Fight or Flight
by GoingInside
Summary: Long after the events of Dragon Ball Z, Cana - a Saiyan hiding on Earth - is sent on a quest for the seven Dragon Balls of legend by the mysterious old master of the Crane School. (Chapter Sixteen: In the past, Cana makes a decision that will change her life forever.) Character image links in profile. ON HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1

_**NOW...**_

He was old. Very old. Some said he was inhumanly old. He certainly looked it, sitting cross-legged in the shaded end of the long courtyard behind the school that served as a training ground for the twenty-odd students in his dojo. All that could be seen of his face was a thin, white beard and lined chin. Everything else was hidden under his ever-present sedge hat. In all her time watching these classes, Cana had never seen what the old man looked like. His head remained tilted slightly down. And yet... he always seemed to know what was happening, could tell the winner of a match without looking, could give advice to the loser without seeing. Whatever power or trick allowed him to do so was just another item on the list of mysteries about the Crane School's master.

There were other rumors about him... that he had a third eye, that he was attended by a dwarf familiar.

That he was a hero from the old days.

Cana's lip twisted, the expression tugging at the old scar on her cheek. She didn't believe those legends. If any of those events had actually happened and the master had been alive to see them, he would be approaching two hundred years old now. And that would still be the most believable thing about the stories... tales of demons and dragons, conquering alien warlords, killer cyborgs, golden warriors, superheroes, and gods.

No, her life was strange enough without resorting to fantasies from over a century ago.

But the master did have a presence, she had to admit. She could almost feel it from where she knelt at the outer edge of the courtyard, oblivious to the sun beating down on her from a cloudless blue sky. Cana came here almost every day, watching the Crane students spar, watching them train. But she never joined them, just watched intently.

She had her reasons, and one of those reasons was even now stepping on to the tiled arena at the center of the courtyard, a miniature replica of the very platform at the World Martial Arts Tournament, the Budokai Tenkaichi. The old man's voice was cracked with age, but still strong, and Cana heard him clearly: "Ty... Jesi... begin!"

Cana leaned forward, hands on her knees, biting her lip, her eyes fixed on the impending bout. Ty was a large young man with a bullet-shaped head shaved bare, eighteen years old, making him one year her senior, and two years older than his opponent. Jesi was a comparatively slim girl with pale skin and red hair tied back in a ponytail. She looked delicate standing against Ty, but Cana knew the strength in the girl's arms and legs. Jesi's emerald eyes were narrowed in concentration, taking in her opponent. Both Crane students wore the plain green gi of the school.

The two bowed, first to the master, then to each other, before settling themselves into fighting stances. Ty's was a judo stance, one more suited for grappling and throwing using his greater size, while Jesi chose the crane form, sticking with her specialty of quick strikes at close range. For a long moment, that was all, the two students sizing each other up in the still, hot air of the courtyard. Cana smiled to see Jesi's effortless balance on one foot as she waited.

Ty's patience ran out first. He took two long steps forward, then lashed out with a low kick meant to knock Jesi to the ground, but the red-head leapt over the extended leg and landed easily on her other foot. Her raised leg unbent in a snap-kick to Ty's side that he blocked with one big arm. Jesi leaned forward, her hands in the distinctive beak-like position of the Crane style and jabbed once, twice, three times in quick succession into Ty's chest.

The bigger fighter staggered back, shook his head, and reset himself in his judo stance. He would be more cautious now, Cana knew, more willing to wait for Jesi to make a move and counter it. Jesi, for her part, seemed willing to oblige, she moved forward, somehow making the awkward crane walk look graceful, and went on the attack again. Ty blocked the first strike and caught the second, but Jesi moved in closer and flicked an elbow into her opponent's face, the move reminiscent of a bird flapping its wing.

Although she had managed to counter the grapple, it seemed Jesi had miscalculated, as Ty did not release her, though he must have been in pain. He pivoted and tossed the girl over his body to slam her into the pocked surface of the arena.

Even from where she sat, Cana could hear the explosion of breath from the red-headed girl and the grunt of pain. Her fists clenched and she grit her teeth. If Ty was quick, he could pin Jesi and end the match.

But rather than do the obvious thing, Ty decided to get fancy. He took a step back and extended one hand. A glowing ball of golden light grew in his palm: A _ki_ blast. It hadn't been until relatively recently in humanity's history that the knowledge of _ki_ had become widespread and it was now a part of many martial arts disciplines, but this was supposed to have been a straight physical match.

Cana expected the old man to stop his wayward student, but the master said nothing. She gathered her feet beneath her, ready to charge in and push the younger girl out of the ring herself if no one else would, but Jesi, in a flash, raised herself on one hand, and – using it as a pivot – swung her legs against Ty's. The young man toppled over, the _ki_ blast releasing inadvertently and cratering one of the inner walls of the courtyard. Before her opponent even hit the floor, Jesi had re-positioned her legs and kicked _up_ at Ty, who let out a cry of pain as he flew into the air.

With a flicker of motion, Jesi was suddenly above the soaring figure of her opponent, hands raised in a sledgehammer blow. She struck with full force, arresting Ty's upward momentum and sending him plummeting back to the ground, where he crashed into the earth of the courtyard, outside of the ring. Jesi floated in place above the arena, using _bukujutsu_ – another _ki_ technique – to keep herself aloft, and turned towards the master for acknowledgment. It was over.

Or rather, it should have been over. Ty slammed one fist against the ground and drew back the other, palm out and glowing gold with more gathered _ki._ He extended the arm and a ball of energy shot forward towards the red-head. It was moving too fast, and Jesi was only just beginning to turn back to the treacherous blow, green eyes widened in shock.

Cana was on her feet in an instant, but she knew she would never make it in time. She heard the other Crane students gasp uselessly and above that, a strong voice.

"Dodonpa!"

A beam of energy impacted the ball of _ki_ and deflected it off into the blue sky where it burst harmlessly into a shower of golden sparks. Cana's jaw dropped and she traced the beam's origin back to the upraised hand of the master. His head was still lowered, his eyes hidden beneath the sedge hat, but the raised hand was held like a child's impression of a gun.

"The match is over," the master said in his rough voice. "Jesi is the victor." He paused to drench his next words in meaning. "Isn't that right, Ty?"

The defeated student scrambled painfully to his feet and bowed low to the old man. From where she stood, Cana could see Ty's face was pale. "Yes, Master," he said. "I'm sorry, Master. I lost my temper." Without raising his head, Ty turned to where Jesi was floating back down to the ring. "I apologize, Jesi."

"Anger is not your enemy," the master said with a sigh. "But you cannot let it cloud your judgment. Your rage can give you power and focus, but only if you control it. If you let it control you, you have already lost."

The ancient stood up, moving with ease despite his age and hunched posture. "The New Crane School was founded to teach new generations of martial artists how to awaken their untapped potential," he said, hands clasped behind his back. "What I hope for all of you is that the instruction you receive here does not only make you stronger, but wiser as well. To know not only _how_ to use these skills, but how _not_ to." Even though his eyes were hidden, the old man seemed to regard each of his students in turn, and Cana felt an electric thrill as his invisible gaze touched even her. "That is all for today. You are dismissed."

Cana narrowed her eyes, staring at the old man. Maybe...

Maybe some of the stories were true, after all.

* * *

"You were lucky," Cana said to Jesi later as they walked away from the dojo. The sky was still blue above them, but the sun was lowering towards the western horizon, where the skyline of West City rose in a jumble of towers and skyscrapers and minarets. The Crane school was on the outskirts of the city, so the streets were blessedly free of the constant buzz of crowds and flying cars that inundated the town center. The two girls were alone as they walked.

Jesi smiled and waved away her friend's concern. "I was never in any danger," she said. "The master would never have allowed Ty to really hurt me."

"You shouldn't have _had_ to count on the old man to save you," Cana insisted. "You let your guard down."

The easy smile on the red-head's face faded. "That's exactly what the master said to me before I left," she admitted. "He said I should have sensed Ty's intent and not turned my back on him."

Cana sighed, tossing her school bag over one shoulder. She winced as she did so, knowing it was an affectation that made her look like a delinquent. Well... that and her wine-red eyes, her spiky black hair, the un-tucked white button-up of her Black Star High School uniform, and the scar on her face. She wore wire-framed glasses in an attempt to soften her image, but it was mostly in vain. Even Jesi, a known tomboy, looked more dignified, her orange and black plaid skirt perfectly pleated, her shirt buttoned and tucked in, and her hair up in girlish pigtails. "He's right. You have to be more careful."

"You worry too much," Jesi said with pouted lips, looking up at her taller friend with her emerald eyes. Cana just grunted in response, and, after a moment, the red-head relented. "Fine... you're right. I'll keep my guard up from now on." The taller girl still didn't respond, so Jesi playfully bumped her hips against her friend. "Earth to Cana," she prompted.

"Sorry, just distracted," Cana said, her strange eyes distant behind her glasses. She could feel the shorter girl still staring at her, so she tried to give a reassuring smile.

It didn't fool Jesi. "You always get like this after watching us train," the red-head said. "You know you're free to join us, I'm sure the master would accept you as a student."

A snort of laughter escaped from Cana's lips. "I'm no fighter," she said.

"Liar," Jesi said without hesitation. "Remember when those bullies had Mio cornered? You pulled them off of her like they weighed nothing at all. And when one of them punched you, you didn't even flinch."

"There's more to being a fighter than just being strong," Cana hedged.

Jesi shook her head. "That's the _point_ , Cana," she said. "That's what you learn at the dojo."

Cana pursed her lips. "I have school to think about, too, Jes." She heard the red-head sigh, and couldn't really blame her for doing so. It was a weak excuse, especially since she spent afternoons at the dojo anyway instead of doing homework. Cana wasn't exactly a star student, but she was in no danger of failing

They walked in silence for a minute. A few hovercars passed by, their engines making a distinctive warbling sound. "I just... don't understand why you'll watch every day if you have no interest in fighting," Jesi said at last.

"Well someone has to keep an eye on you," Cana said with a teasing smirk. She was gratified to see her friend blush.

"Whatever," Jesi mumbled, looking away. There was another pause, a more companionable one this time. "So, hey," the red-head continued after a moment, "you want to catch a movie tonight or something? My treat."

Cana made a show of checking her watch, although she already knew she would have to refuse. "It's getting kinda' late..." she said.

Her shorter friend gave her a half-hearted shove. "Come _on_ ," she said. "What is your phobia about staying out after dark?"

"It's not a phobia," Cana said with a shiver, but didn't elaborate. She felt guilty leaving it at that. "We can go this weekend, if you want," she said after a brief hesitation. " _My_ treat."

Jesi shot her a carefree grin. "Well, if you insist," she said. Cana smiled back, and the two went the rest of the way without words.

* * *

That night Cana sat alone on the bed of her dorm room, stripped down to just a nightshirt. Her distinctive eyes were staring sightlessly at the calendar on the wall of the tiny room. Today's date, May 10th, was underlined in red several times. In the corner of the little box were the words "Full Moon" and an empty circle signifying the astronomical event.

Taking a deep breath, the dark-haired girl glanced at the windows of her room, making sure for the umpteenth time that the shades were pulled tightly closed and secured with clothespins. Everything was as it should be. Everything was in place that had kept her safe for two years now, since she had first arrived in West City, alone and without anyone to support her or take care of her. It had been worse in those first few months, before she had become a ward of the state and enrolled in Black Star High School. Now she had a room to come back to, a bed to sleep in, and a good friend in Jesi.

Most importantly, she had a place to hide from the world.

 _Nothing's going to happen_ , she thought. But it was like this every time. Every thirty days, she had to go through this, and even when there wasn't a full moon, she was too scared to stay out late. Only at the peak of summer, when the days were longest, could she have some semblance of a social life, but even that was limited to Jesi.

That was the life she had chosen.

And that was fine with Cana. She preferred living here, like this. She was happy, for the most part. Except for the damned moon and the overwhelming ache she felt to join the sparring matches; a flame she felt drawn to against her will. Her hands tightened into fists and she let out a frustrated huff, squeezing her eyes closed and trying to banish her thoughts.

It was no good. The battle-lust sang in her blood, and some primal part of her responded, making her long to throw open the shades and look into the sky. Cana, limbs twitching, lifted one of her clenched fists and drew it back to punch herself in the stomach. She felt the pain and used it to anchor herself. Blindly, she reached towards her nightstand with her other hand and grabbed the sleeping mask she always kept there. With shaking fingers, she secured the piece of dark cloth over her eyes and forced herself to lay down.

It was a long time before she fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

_**AND THEN...**_

Orange grass rippled under a pink sky. Short, pyramidal trees marched in even rows up and down strangely squared-off hills. Strange creatures that looked like insects but sang like birds darted back and forth. Arano was definitely an alien planet, but strangely idyllic, too, or would be were Cana not standing on the raised lip of a massive crater that scarred the landscape, simian tail waving slowly behind her. The crater was nearly a hundred meters wide and about a quarter of that deep. Dirt and debris was scattered in all directions around the hole. Smaller craters radiated out from the big one, marking an ugly wound that would take decades to fully recover.

Cana knew a forest of the strange trees had once stood here. Small animals had gamboled under the geometric branches, and the marsupial natives of this planet would visit in their off time to hike and play. None of that was her concern. All that mattered was their victory over the Planet Trade Organization on this very spot, and that she had survived another battle. Her and the team of Saiyan warriors of which she was a member had completed their mission and kept yet another world safe.

The irony of that mission, of all their missions, had been beaten into all the Saiyans – descendants of survivors from Planet Vegeta's off-world colonies which had been kept secret from Frieza – that, once, they had been feared mercenaries hired by an interplanetary warlord to do his dirty work and conquer worlds for later sale. Now under new leadership, the Saiyans functioned as a kind of interstellar police force, channeling their innate battle-lust and talent into something more productive.

And their most common enemy was the very organization they had once been a part of.

In theory, it was a fitting way for their people to make up for their bloody past. In actuality, it was one thing to have the Saiyans do good works, but quite another to make them understand _why_. The smooth-faced teenager could experience the gratitude of the natives, could see them celebrate their freedom, look over miles of untouched land outside of their battle zone, and intellectually know it was a positive thing, but she felt nothing. Nothing except the satisfaction of a battle fought and won.

"Your armor is too clean," came a voice from behind her. Cana turned away from the crater, cheeks already darkened in a blush at the rebuke. Chard, her team leader stood several feet away, tightening the straps on his black and green chest-plate. He was wearing a much older set of armor than many of this new generation of Saiyan, pairing it with an equally old model of scouter: a single-eye version with a red lens.

And he was right, Cana's white torso armor was barely smudged, her dark blue, skintight jumpsuit untorn in comparison to Chard's dented and battered outfit. "Sorry, Captain," the girl said, bowing her head respectfully to her superior, who was nearly three times her age. "Things were happening so fast, and – between you and Letta and Lenti – there wasn't much for me to do." This last she said with a faint grin, eyes lighting up as she thought of the trio tearing through the enemy lines with their combined power... the economy of movement that Chard displayed, the grace and speed of Letta, and the sheer strength of Lenti.

One corner of Chard's lips lifted in an answering smile. "Gotta' get in there fast before we steal all the action," he said. The smile faded. "I know you're still new at this, but you can't be shy next time, Cana." he said. "You'll never reach your full potential if you don't mix it up with the rest of us."

"Yes, sir," Cana said, inclining her head again.

"Now why don't you tell me what you're doing here instead of waiting at the pods," Chard said, stepping to the spiky-haired girl's side to look into the crater. "This isn't exactly a prime spot for sight-seeing."

Cana shrugged, uncomfortable with the question. Truth be told, she wasn't sure why she had felt drawn to this spot. She wasn't re-living the short battle... as Chard had implied, she hadn't done much during the fight besides hang back beside their technician – Sohko – and watch. "I was just... wondering," she finished lamely.

Chard turned to regard her with serious eyes. He sighed and ran a hand through his unruly hair. "Wondering why we're here?" he asked.

The younger Saiyan pursed her lips and gave a brief nod.

"A lot of the younger generation are asking the same question, kid," he said, and he looked suddenly old and tired, and Cana felt a surge of dismay. This strong, vital figure, a beast on the battlefield had let down his guard, and underneath the confidence he was just another person with his own worries and concerns. He took a deep breath and let it out, then a put a hand on her shoulder and turned her towards the crater again. "What do you see?"

She didn't respond right away, knowing Chard wasn't looking for a quick answer. If he wanted a deeper or philosophical reply, however, Cana didn't know what it was. She knew Lenti or Letta would say they saw victory, but that didn't ring true to her. "I see..." she began, but nothing came to her. She let our a snort of a laugh. "I see a crater."

The older Saiyan's expression didn't change, his gaze remained steady out across the battlefield. "You know what I see?" he asked. He raised one gloved hand and pointed out past the crater to where the strange trees grew in perfect lines off in the distance. "I see life." He looked down at her, and his eyes were sad. "You see death."

Feeling chastened by the words and her superior's regard, she responded without thinking. "We're a warrior race," she blurted. "How can we fight without seeing death everywhere?"

"When you're older," Chard said, "I hope you'll find out fighting isn't about killing. It's not even about winning. It's about squeezing every little bit of life out of _yourself_ , not your opponent. It's about finding out your true potential, reaching for the next step." The corner of the older man's mouth twisted in a grimace. "Not enough Saiyans see that anymore. Fighting has become an end in itself."

Cana protested. "I think most of us are still passionate about battle, sir," she said.

The hand on her shoulder tightened, not quite painful. "But in service of _what_?" Chard asked. "Almost two centuries ago, our people were almost destroyed by their own self-destructive greed and ambition. We allowed ourselves to be employed by a being with no conscience, no sense of loyalty or gratitude all so we could fight and kill and conquer. And what happened?"

"Frieza turned on us," Cana said. The story was known to every Saiyan. "He destroyed our world and killed almost all all of our people."

"And for decades, the bastard got away with it," Chard said, picking up the thread of the story. "Our own prince remained in his service, still doing his dirty work. But finally, a Saiyan rose up and killed Frieza... not to avenge his race, but to protect the people he cared about." The older Saiyan released Cana's shoulder. "That gave him the strength to defeat the tyrant that killed almost the entirety of our lauded 'warrior race'. Imagine what the Saiyans could have done if they had been fighting for life instead of death."

Chard's eyes, which had become unfocused as he mused on the answer to his own question, sharpened again on Cana's face. "Do you understand?"

"I... think so," she said hesitantly. "Fighting alone isn't enough. You have to fight _for_ something."

The faint smile appeared on Chard's face again. "Exactly. If you do that, Cana, you'll find the strength to match any Saiyan." The smile turned into a smirk. "Even an Elite." Cana tried not to let her disbelief show, but she doubted she could ever match the older man or the twin warriors Lenti and Letta. Her power level was middling at best, and they had all tested very high even in their youth. "Now let's get off this planet before the natives start thinking we're settling in as an occupation force."

Cana nodded. It was standard operating procedure to blast off as soon as possible after winning a battle to make sure alien populations didn't get suspicious or feel as if they had traded one conquering army for another. The Saiyan combat squad wouldn't even stay long enough to collect their pay. That would be done by a neutral representative at a later date.

The two of them lifted clear of the ground with an unconscious exercise of _bukujutsu_ skill and flew south to where they had left the five single-person Saiyan pods that had brought them to this world. Cana kept her eyes down the entire time, seeing the fields and hills and rivers of Arano pass beneath her, trying to see what Chard saw. They reached the pods in only a few minutes and set down gently. The female Saiyan frowned, seeing only one figure waited by the spherical vessels.

"Sohko, report," Chard said, his expression a match for Cana's own.

"The pods are ready to go, sir," Sohko said, snapping to attention. Of the five Saiyans on this mission, Sohko was the only one younger than Cana. He had been assigned as their technician, someone who would keep the scouters, the pods, and the armor in good condition. In the old days, the Saiyans would just force conquered people to fix or create useful technology and teach them to make it work, but now Cana's people had adapted to repairing their own equipment. Being a warrior race, however, there were very few of them that would lower themselves to "grunt work", as they called it. Only those who had abysmal power levels tended to go into any of the support occupations: cooks, medics, technicians, coordinators and the like.

Their technician was a perfect example; absolutely worthless in a fight, but brilliant with technology. Sohko was a relatively scrawny Saiyan with short-cropped dark hair and pale skin. His green-lensed wraparound scouter was bulkier even than the blue-lensed one Cana wore, having several functions only the technician would need. Likewise, his armor was also heavier than the other warriors'; a set with full shoulder-pads. Still, he fulfilled his job well, though he had a tendency to space out.

This was one such time. Sohko remained at attention as Chard waited with crossed arms. Several moments passed, and Cana could see the boy was wilting under the gaze of the older man, his tail drooping further down behind him as the seconds passed, but was unable to figure out what he had done wrong. "S... sir?" Sohko asked at last.

"Where are Lenti and Letta?" Chard asked with more patience than Cana would have been able to muster in his place.

"Oh!" Sohko said, straightening back up to attention. "They went into town, sir."

Chard frowned even deeper. "What for?"

The technician was visibly nervous, a bead of sweat sliding down his forehead and behind the thick green scouter lens. "I believe they went for food, sir."

"They know better," Chard said, making a face. He lifted a hand to his own old-model scouter and pressed the button that would activate the communications system. "Lenti, Letta, look alive. I want you back at the pods on the double," he said into the air, knowing his words would be transmitted to the wayward warriors' own scouters instantaneously.

"Ah... sir?" Sohko said, looking even more nervous than before. The young Saiyan pointed behind him to where two single-eye scouter models sat on the short orange grass. "Before they went off, they said their scouters were acting a little buggy and asked me to take a look at them."

Now Cana shared Sohko's nervousness, seeing the anger growing on Chard's face. She stepped forward to defuse the older man's rage. "I'll go find them, Captain," she volunteered. The storm cleared from her superior's face, and he nodded at her.

"Thanks, Cana," he said. "Get those two knuckleheads back here as soon as you can."

She nodded back, then clenched her fists, focusing her power. A white aura built around her as her energy gathered, and she shot off the ground in a spray of dust and orange blades of grass, arcing towards the nearest Aranoan settlement, traveling much faster than she and Chard had been minutes earlier. The spiky-haired Saiyan girl reached up to a button on her own scouter. The device covered both ears with the white shell that housed the working components – sensors and radio equipment – while a transparent blue polymer connected the two ear-pieces like a visor, covering her eyes and acting as an interactive display.

With a beep, the device turned on, and Cana began turning her head back and forth, scanning for the two remaining Saiyans of her team. It didn't take long to find the white dots representing Lenti and Letta; their power levels were significantly higher than those of the native Aranoans. She dropped down into the city, landing in front of a large building constructed in the shape of a ziggurat with five levels. From what little she had seen of the planet, she knew normal dwellings were pyramidal, which would make the ziggurat something else. Too big for a restaurant or market. A government building perhaps?

But why were Lenti and Letta here?

Cana shrugged internally and walked forward. Her pace slackened slightly as she noticed two of the marsupial Aranoans guarding the door. When they saw her however, they cringed back, lowering their ceremonial spears. The young Saiyan passed gingerly between them, wondering what their problem was, and stepped into the building.

The interior of the building was spacious and elegant by Aranoan standards. It was definitely an official structure. She heard strained voices ahead of her, deeper in the structure. _Maybe we missed some of the Planet Trade Organization forces_ , Cana thought. _That's why the others are here, they're fighting them off right now!_ She broke into a run, heading towards the voices.

So sure was she of her theory that it was something of a let down when she skidded into an office at the rear of the building and found only the two missing Saiyans and a small group of Aranoans. The furred aliens were shaking and bowing behind a desk suited for their short statures. The room stank with their fear. On the other side of the desk were Lenti and Letta, the twin Saiyan warriors. Between the two groups, on the desk, was a small bag overflowing with gems and precious metals.

Cana started to ask what was going on, but a glare from Letta snapped her mouth closed. The woman was strikingly beautiful, with hair that was long and silkier than a Saiyan's wont, but her svelte figure concealed a frightening strength, though she was only a few years older than Cana herself. Lenti, her fraternal twin, was a huge man with a fierce mane of spiked hair that extended midway down his back and a goatee that made him look quite savage.

"This will do for starters," Lenti was saying, his scouter translating his words into the Aranoan language. "Our compatriots will be coming by soon to pick up the remainder of our fee."

Letta turned away from Cana to give a beatific smile to the cowering aliens. "And remember, you are not to speak a word of this to anyone. The Saiyans can protect your planet, but only if we're given sufficient... motivation."

One of the aliens gibbered in its native tongue, but Cana's scouter translated the words and whispered them into her ears. "That was not part of the contract we signed!" the Aranoan protested.

"Little fool!" Lenti hissed, leaning forward over the desk. "That contract only covered the initial battle, not the ongoing protection. Do you want to be left defenseless when the Planet Trade Organization returns?"

The little aliens whimpered among themselves until the spokesperson finally answered. "Of course not..." he said, sounding resigned even through the scouter's impersonal translation.

Letta pulled back on her brother's arms, tugging him away from the desk. "We appreciate your business," she said sweetly. She took the bag of treasure and turned away, indicating with her eyes that Cana should also leave.

The young Saiyan was sweating, knowing she had seen something she shouldn't have. Lenti's fierce eyes were fixed on her, and remained so as the trio walked out of the building and back into the pink sunlight. The entire time, Cana tried to come up with something to say, to ask the twins why they had extorted money from the Aranoans, to remind them they had broken the rules, to invoke Chard's name as a threat, but she instinctively knew that to say the wrong thing would be dangerous, perhaps deadly.

It was the female twin that finally broke the silence. Letta pulled Cana to a stop and looked down at her with the unusual golden eyes she shared with her brother. She reached out and plucked the scouter from the younger Saiyan's head, making sure it wasn't transmitting, and the young Saiyan girl cursed, wishing she had had the presence of mind to press the button and let Chard eavesdrop on the twins' blackmail session. "So how is this going to go, little one?" Letta asked, her voice honey dripped over steel.

"What do you mean?" Cana asked cautiously.

Lenti snorted contemptuously, but Letta ignored him. "I mean we can't be absolutely sure we've defeated every member of the PTO," she said, her voice heavy with meaning. "One or more of them could be hiding in the city at this very moment." The tall female leaned forward, looking directly into Cana's wine-red eyes, her voice lowering. "They could be behind any corner, waiting to ambush you, tear you to pieces, and burn you to ash. Why... even Lenti and I might not be able to stop them."

"Stop playing with your food, Letta," Lenti rumbled. "Let's just kill her and be done with it."

As big and imposing as he was, even Lenti relented when Letta shot him a venomous look. The long-haired girl turned back to her young teammate and smirked. "She's one of us, Lenti," she purred. "Nothing will harm her unless she betrays us. And you wouldn't do that would you, little one?"

The threat was crystal clear. Cana was as angry and frightened as she could ever remember feeling. This casual betrayal by people she had trusted and looked up to cut her deeply, and she longed to strike the taller woman, to blast her snarling brother, but either one of them was stronger by far than she was. Her rage was an impotent flame that burned itself out quickly. "What do you want me to do?" she asked at last between grit teeth, her tongue thick in her mouth.

"You will never speak to anyone about what you saw today," Letta said. "Or else..." she leaned even closer, near enough that Cana could feel her warm breath tickler her ear, "We'll kill you." She straightened, smiling down at the younger Saiyan.

Smoldering red eyes met the taller woman's golden ones. But what else could she do? "I... understand," Cana said, biting off each syllable.

Letta's smile broadened, and Lenti growled and looked away, long hair swinging behind him, crossing his arms. "Good girl," the older woman said. She gently placed Cana's stolen scouter back on her head. "Such pretty eyes," she said. "Especially when they're as angry as they are now. It's such a shame to cover them up with this."

Cana's fists clenched, but she said nothing. She said nothing as they flew back to the pods. And she said nothing as the five-Saiyan team blasted away from Arano in their spherical white vessels.

She kept her promise, though it burned at her every day after.


	3. Chapter 3

_**NOW...**_

She awoke slowly, the dream of the past clinging stubbornly to her as she regained consciousness. Her hands were tangled in the sheets, gripping them tightly, and her brown-furred Saiyan tail twitched behind her, bumping against the dorm room wall every few seconds. Even as she opened her eyes, she could still see Letta's golden irises before her, staring at her with unsettling intensity.

 _Damn you_ , she thought. This wasn't the first time she had had the dream. Far from it. And every time, she woke to a flood of shame, remembering her own weakness, the cowardice that had resulted in her running to this blue marble called Earth. The scar on her left cheek throbbed for a moment, as if to help remind her of her failure.

Cana sighed and rolled out of bed, stumbling a bit as her feet hit the floor. Peeling off the nightshirt that was the only piece of clothing she wore at night – anything else made her tail feel too constricted while she slept – she stepped into the tiny bathroom to prepare for the day ahead. The familiar ritual of grooming seemed to calm her nerves, and her thoughts turned away from the past and to the day ahead.

There was a test in history today, she recalled with a frown as she washed her thick hair in the hot flow of water from the nozzle in the shower stall. They had been covering yet another chapter in humanity's surprisingly bloody past, which was intriguing, but difficult, full of strange names of people and places. Still, she much preferred history to literature, which was boring to her at the best of times and completely baffling at the worst. She had taken to math and science with an ease that surprised her, and she smiled to herself, thinking of the technician, Sohko, and how well he'd do in her place.

Her smile turned sad as melancholy flooded back in. She had left him behind, too.

When she was finished cleansing herself, the Saiyan stepped out of the shower and stood in front of the fogged mirror, hesitating a moment before wiping her hand along the condensation on the surface of the reflective material. Her face was revealed first: her black, spiky hair was matted to her head from the flow of the water, but it would stand up nearly straight as it dried, adding a few inches to her 5'7" of height. Her red eyes – always a conversation starter – stared out from under dark, angled eyebrows with a frankness most people mistook for challenge. Her old scar slashed across one cheek, and she reached up with a finger to brush at it self-consciously. She looked dangerous, more suited to a biker gang than behind a high school desk.

Cana felt the wire-framed glasses she wore in public helped a little bit in making her seem less threatening, though her eyesight was actually better than 20/20 and the lenses were only for show. Sometimes the glasses did help, though. Rarely.

She continued wiping down the mirror with the edge of her hand to reveal more of reflection. Her Saiyan metabolism kept her fit and trim, giving her a figure that was lean, if nothing spectacular otherwise in her opinion. Cana certainly didn't believe she'd ever reach the cruel beauty of Letta or the cute prettiness of Jesi, but she had nothing to complain about. She did mourn a bit for the loss of the abdominal muscles she had once cultivated as a Saiyan warrior, but she had been out of training for years now, and her stomach was now merely flat instead of toned, criss-crossed – like the rest of her torso – with faint white, worm-like scars.

After another moment lingering at the mirror, Cana turned away to get dressed, fetching a mostly-clean school uniform that hung crookedly on a hangar in her tiny closet. She tugged on the soft garments sightlessly, remembering herself in the past, pulling on a very different uniform. She had never quite gotten completely used to human fashion, preferring the snugness and protection of her Saiyan battle armor and its dark blue body glove. That was one reason she chose to wear black spats under the pleated orange and black Black Star Highschool skirt she was forced to put on rather than something more ladylike.

Since it was summer, Cana wouldn't need the burnt-orange blazer female students wore in the colder months, but the white button-up was mandatory. The Saiyan girl purposely left the shirt untucked, as she always did, then threaded her tail through carefully cut holes in spats and skirt to wrap it around her waist. The loose shirt would hide the tail and – she hoped – let her pass for a human. It had worked so far, but she was still cautious.

Sometimes, she considered removing her own tail, symbolically and physically cutting herself off from her people, but she could never work up the nerve. It wasn't the pain that stopped her. Pain was nothing. It was the psychological impact of the deed, the loss of identity and near-neutering of herself that stopped her. She still had enough Saiyan pride to rebel against such things. It might make her life easier if she removed the appendage, but she refused to take that step.

Cana reached out to retrieve her glasses from the desk and returned to the mirror. She put the on the wire-framed lenses and looked at her reflection one last time, making sure her disguise was in place. A tight smile crossed her face.

 _Perfectly human_ , she thought.

* * *

Green eyes watched her with bemusement from across the small, round table in the cafeteria, peering over a small mountain of food. Cana hardly noticed the look anymore, but when she did, she still felt a twinge of self-consciousness. Nonetheless, she didn't let that stop her from taking another huge bite of the thick toast – slathered with jam – she held in her left hand, then an equally large portion of steamed rice from the spoon in her right hand. She ate quickly, aware of the limited time she had to consume breakfast before classes started.

"I never get used to it, Cana," Jesi said, smiling faintly and resting her chin in one upturned hand. She had eaten at home and was only in the cafeteria to spend time with her friend. "My parents used to say _I_ ate a lot until they met you."

The disguised Saiyan felt her cheeks warm in a blush. "I'm still a growing girl," she said by way of an excuse.

The red-head's smile broadened. "Growing where?" she asked. "You pack the food away like this at every meal, but you never seem to gain a kilo."

"High metabolism," Cana mumbled around a mouthful of rice and miso soup.

"No one has a metabolism that high," her friend laughed. "No one human, anyway." Cana froze in mid-bite, red eyes fixed on the younger girl. "Tell me the truth..." Jesi said, her face suddenly serious. The dark-haired girl swallowed with difficulty, her face going pale. "Are you actually from outer space?" Jesi finished, leaning forward, expression intense.

Cana's jaw dropped, and she struggled to find words. What had given her away? Then Jesi cracked a smile that turned into a grin and then into a laugh. The Saiyan girl's shoulders slumped in relief. It had only been a joke. "Very funny," she muttered.

"Aw, I'm sorry," Jesi said between giggling fits. "I'm just teasing you, you know."

Cana nodded and gave her friend a pained half-smile. "I'm not _that_ weird, am I?" she asked, pushing her still mostly-full plate away, her appetite suddenly gone.

The red-haired girl shook her head, laughter subsiding. She wiped a tear of mirth away from one eye, reaching across the table with her other hand to take a piece of toast from her best friend's plate. "Of _course_ you're weird, Cana. That's why I like you so much." She took a bite and chewed thoughtfully for a moment before swallowing. "Everyone else here is so... boring. So normal. But there's something different about you, something I liked right from the start." She leaned against her free hand and smiled at the older girl. "Even if you _were_ a space alien, I'd still think you were great."

Jesi's praise warmed the Saiyan, and her lips curled upward automatically in response, another blush darkening her cheeks. Her tail twitched with pleasure under the loose hem of her shirt. She hesitated, considering whether she should tell her friend the truth or not. _She deserves to know if anyone does_ , Cana thought. But, no... not here. Not now. "Well... thanks," she said instead with an awkward grin.

"Anytime," the red-head said, her own smile infectious. She pushed Cana's plate back to where it had been sitting. "Now finish up before I eat it myself."

Cana was already reaching for a riceball. "You got it," she said, still smiling.

* * *

The remainder of the school day passed without incident. Cana dozed her way through Literature, managed to pass the History test, zoned out in math, but found herself fascinated in chemistry as the teacher lectured on chemical luminescence and the way atoms could give off heat and light and even change colors in high energy reactions. Something about the idea reminded the red-eyed girl of the stories her people told about the Super Saiyans, legendary warriors that could transform, changing their hair and eye color and increasing their strength exponentially.

Cana listened intently, but doodled in her notebook the entire class instead of taking notes. She wasn't familiar enough with human languages to be able to write quickly. If she tried, she invariably ended up writing in Saiyan script, which could draw the wrong kind of attention.

After school, the dark-haired girl walked with Jesi to the Crane dojo as she always did. As ever, Cana felt torn about her actions... her Saiyan blood reveled in the fighting she would witness, but she knew it was an addiction she shouldn't feed. Her desire to support her best friend was what tipped the scales. The two walked and chatted the whole way, a familiar and comforting ritual. It was times like this Cana truly enjoyed her life as a human. She smiled and laughed and teased, giving as good as she got from the younger girl.

Jesi won all her matches, and – fortunately – there was no repeat of the previous day's drama. All the other students seemed subdued and cautious after yesterday, but the red-headed girl was as boisterous and energetic as always, grinning after every sparring session, congratulating her opponents with natural good cheer. Cana smiled to see her friend enjoying herself so much.

As the class wound down, the old man rose from his place at the opposite end of the courtyard from where Cana sat. He was stooped and hunched with age, his head still tilted down, the sedge hat covering almost his entire face, but he stood without seeming effort or pain. "You've all been working hard," the Crane school master said in his cracked voice. "You've learned much, and I've watched you grow as martial artists. But your life as a student is never truly over. There is always more to learn, new heights to climb."

The disguised Saiyan hugged her knees to her chest, watching the old man. It was clear the Crane master was going to make an announcement, and she wondered what it might be.

"To that end..." the old man continued. "I will be examining your progress even more closely in the coming months." His voice grew stronger as the Crane students began murmuring among themselves. Jesi shot a glance to Cana, then turned back to her master. "If one of you meets with my approval, you will be selected to attend the Budokai Tenkaichi in September," the old man said. "There you will face stronger opponents and push yourself to new levels." He paused and seemed to scan the courtyard again. Cana felt his invisible gaze brush her again; shivered as it seemed to linger. "You are dismissed for now. Rest well, and return tomorrow ready to prove your worth."

The students all bowed at the waist, holding it for a respectful ten seconds before rising and making for the changing rooms, chatting excitedly about the announcement. Jesi grinned at Cana, emerald eyes bright, before dashing into the building to change out of her green gi and back into her school uniform. The Saiyan's lips curled up at her friend's contagious excitement. There was no doubt in her mind Jesi would be chosen to represent the Crane school. The red-head was the best student in the current crop, and that wasn't just favoritism speaking.

Cana's head tilted back, gazing up at the lightly clouded sky through her glasses, trying to imagine her friend fighting in the big ring of the World Martial Arts Tournament. It would be a dream come true for the red-haired girl, and the Saiyan found – to her own discomfort – she was jealous. The least human part of her longed to join the tournament herself, to fight the best warriors this world had to offer.

She lost track of time with her musings, and heard Chard's voice in her head... _"Fighting isn't about killing. It's not even about winning. It's about squeezing every little bit of life out of_ yourself _, not your opponent. It's about finding out your true potential, reaching for that next step_. _"_

Jesi would have that chance. Cana wouldn't.

A shadow passed over Cana's reclining form, and she lowered her gaze from the sky to see the old master of the Crane school was standing right in front of her. She froze, wondering how he had gotten so close without her hearing him. He seemed to stare at her through the wide brim of the flattened conical hat, and it took several seconds for Cana to regain her voice.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

The old man didn't answer for a long time. "Perhaps," he said at last. "Perhaps... we can help each other."

Cana frowned. "I don't know what you mean," she said. She peered past the Crane master to the entrance of the school. "Look," she said, trying to hide her discomfort with the ancient's regard, "my friend is going to be coming out soon. We're going to walk home together."

"Jesi is the one that asked me to speak to you," the old man said, his voice calm. "She understands you won't be able to join her today."

"Yeah, well, I'd rather hear it from her if you don't mind," Cana said, annoyed now. She got to her feet, prepared to walk away from the Crane master and find Jesi.

The old man didn't even turn as she went around him. "She wants me to ask you to join my school," he said.

Cana's step faltered. She remembered their conversation yesterday. Jesi had always wanted the older girl to join her in the dojo, so this was certainly in character for the red-head. "And she thinks you can convince me?" the disguised Saiyan asked, looking over her shoulder at the stooped form behind her.

"Can I?" the old man responded, still not turning around.

She considered for only a moment. "No," she said.

The ancient turned to face her again. "Then I won't try," he said. Cana gave a brief nod over her shoulder and started walking again, and – again – the old man's voice stopped her. "I will, however, ask you for a different favor." He paused. "An exchange of favors, actually."

Cana huffed out a breath. What could he possibly want from her? She closed her eyes, thinking of Jesi's clear respect for her master, and – for the other girl's sake – she spun to face the old man. "I'm listening."

"Before I ask for your help and offer my own," he said, "You must answer a question." He stepped forward, and Cana noted how, despite his hunched figure, his movements were smooth and effortless. He came very close, and the dark-haired girl had to stop herself from stepping back and increasing the space between them again. "Why are you here...

"Saiyan?"

Cana's blood turned to ice water in her veins, and she recoiled from the word as if struck. "What the hell are you talking about?" she asked, her mouth dry.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," the old man said. "You can hide beneath your school uniform and your glasses, but I know what you are." He chuckled. "There's very few left on this planet who might possibly know better than I do." Cana was shaking her head, denying the master's accusation, but the ancient somehow saw the gesture and responded. "I can sense your energy, girl," he said, his voice harsh now. "You think I can have a Saiyan sitting in my dojo and not know it?"

The old man finally lifted his head, and Cana stared at his face in shock. His visage was lined and creased with age, his white beard short and stringy, and he was blind, his eyes white and sightless. At least... two of his eyes were blind. The third, in the center of his forehead, stared at her with unblinking intensity. "I may be blind, but you can't escape my third eye, girl," he said. "Tien Shinhan has seen that energy before. I know it for what it is."

The red-eyed girl bared her teeth in a snarl. "You're crazy," she said. "I'm out of here." She turned and strode away, but the old man's voice rose to stop her.

"All the doors in and out of this courtyard are locked," Tien said. "How will you leave?" Cana's fists clenched, and she gathered her energy. "Will you fly?" the old man asked. The girl's lip twitched and she let her hands go limp. If she used _bukujutsu_ , or even showed she was capable of leaping onto the high courtyard wall, she would be confirming she was more than she appeared.

"Let. Me. Out." Cana enunciated each syllable coldly and carefully.

The old man shook his head with something like disappointment. "Would you rather run than face your fear?" he asked.

The girl drew back as if she had been slapped. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. She looked away. "Yes," she said.

Neither of them said anything for a minute. Birds, perching on the wall of the courtyard, chirped cheerfully, not caring anything for the drama unfolding below. "So much for Saiyan pride," the old man said, quiet but firm.

That single word was like a key unlocking a door. Cana's Saiyan rage boiled through her, igniting her blood, her tail stiffening under her shirt. Without a sound, she charged, fist drawn back to punch the old man, to force him to leave her alone. She struck, but, before she even knew what was happening, she found herself on the ground behind her target, the old man having somehow used the momentum of her attack against her, and so fast she hadn't even seen a flicker of movement. Her back stung from her impact and she gasped for breath.

It only made her more angry. She remembered Jesi's match yesterday and tried to replicate her move, sweeping with one leg from her prone position. The old man leapt away nimbly and landed several feet distant. Cana's jaw dropped again, but she climbed to her feet and charged once more.

"I told you yesterday, girl," the old man said, dodging and weaving between her flurry of punches and kicks without apparent effort. "You have to control your anger. Don't let it control you."

Was he actually trying to train her? "Shut _up_ , old man!" Cana hissed. She leapt back and gathered her _ki_ in her right palm to fire a wave of energy at the Crane master, knowing it would unmask her but beyond caring. The ancient batted it away easily, and it arced away into the sky.

He stared at her with sightless eyes. "You're out of shape," he said. "Your punches are slow, your footwork is sloppy, and your _ki_ control is poor." He shook his head. "This will never do."

"I'm fine!" Cana insisted. She wasn't, though, and she knew it. A short bout with an old man shouldn't have her breathing this hard. _Have I really fallen so far?_ She asked herself in dismay.

"Perhaps I was wrong about you after all," the old man continued, ignoring her. "Maybe you're no Saiyan." His third eye narrowed, glaring at her. "But there's one way to tell for certain." He looked at something behind Cana. "Do it, Chiaotzu," he said.

The girl just had enough time to turn and see a bizarre, hairless little man floating nearby. He looked like a child's doll, with porcelain-white skin and red circles painted on his cheeks. His arms were outstretched, and he hummed softly to himself. Cana tried to turn back to the old man, but her body wouldn't respond. She was paralyzed. Fear gripped her like a giant's hand. She was trapped... helpless.

"What... do you want... with me?" Cana asked, forcing the words out through stiff lips.

The old man moved into her vision, looking at her with a hint of regret on his face. "I want to awaken the beast inside you," he said. He raised one hand and chopped at her neck.

The world went black, and Cana knew nothing more.


	4. Chapter 4

_**AND THEN...**_

Cana floated, feeling weightless in the thick, sluggish flow of the medical machine on the planet Asta, formerly known as Frieza Planet 448. Blue light filtered in through the round porthole that served as a window in the sterile white metal which formed the pod. A black breathing mask covered her face, and flexible sensors were affixed to her temples. She was naked, giving the azure fluid more surface area to access and heal the wounds she had suffered on their most recent mission.

" _I know I told you to mix it up with the rest of us, kid, but you were reckless,"_ she remembered Chard saying when he had carried her back to her Saiyan space pod, broken and bleeding. She had been warmed by the older man's concern. _"_ _What were you thinking?_ " he had asked. Cana had wanted to tell him, to explain her desire to grow stronger, to become powerful enough to fight the treacherous members of the Saiyan captain's own team: Lenti and Letta. She had witnessed the twins extorting and threatening innocent alien civilizations for treasure, but they had intimidated her into silence. Either one of them was much stronger than she was, too strong for her to stand up to them.

Since that day, Cana had trained harder than ever before. Her young body was toughened with sinewy muscle, and every mission increased her mastery of fighting techniques and _ki_ control. Even on their time off, the Saiyan girl would spend hours in the gravity room, forcing herself to overcome the ever higher pull on her body during her workouts.

Her body ached constantly, even when she wasn't wounded. More than once, she had worked herself to collapse. That was fine with Cana. If she trained to the point of unconsciousness, even to the point of near-death, she would come back stronger. That was one of the gifts of her Saiyan biology. She would adapt to overcome whatever defeated her. Again and again, as many times as it took.

Or until she was dead.

Red eyes opened to see a figure standing outside the medical machine and Cana shivered. She recognized the feminine silhouette and long hair of Letta, waiting for her to emerge. A muffled beeping reached her ears, signaling the end of the healing cycle. Cana wanted to hide, to stay in the pod until the older girl left, but the procedure was automated, and the blue fluid began to drain away through the hole that had irised open at the bottom of the machine. The water-tight door in front of her hissed as it unlocked, equalizing the pressure and causing her ears to pop, then swung open.

Saiyans weren't an overly modest people, but Cana hesitated before climbing out of the pod, feeling vulnerable and exposed to Letta's golden eyes, which stared at her without blinking. The taller girl stood in the med-bay in full armor with arms crossed under her breasts, tail wrapped securely around her waist. The younger Saiyan stood naked and dripping with her dark hair plastered to her head, trying not to blush, looking for something to put on. Letta's lips curled in a thin smile as she uncrossed her arms to reach behind her, pulling out a new set of the armor Cana was accustomed to wearing.

Cana snatched the battle suit from the older girl, eyes narrowing in annoyance, which only caused Letta's smile to grow broader. She sat down on the tiled floor with her back to the other girl and began tugging the skin-tight body glove on, eager to conceal her nudity from Letta's gaze. Neither of them spoke, but every noise in the med-bay seemed loud to Cana after her time in the medical machine: the rustling of her clothes, the drips of healing fluid that fell from her hair, and the beeping of the other equipment in the room.

"No 'thank you'?" Letta asked as Cana pulled on the white boots of her battle suit, her voice mocking.

The younger Saiyan had hoped she could get out of the room without having to exchange words with her tormentor, but she hadn't counted on it. "No," she said flatly, not even pretending to be polite, taking the chest piece of her armor to pull the stretchable garment over her head.

It was a mistake. In an instant, Letta crossed the few feet separating them, picking up Cana by the throat and slamming her against the nearest wall. The chest piece fell from the younger Saiyan's nerveless fingers and she winced as the impact re-ignited pains the healing fluid had muted. "You have a real gratitude problem, little one," Letta hissed, leaning close. "Do you really think your absurd training regime has put you on _my_ level? That it _ever_ will?"

Cana's lip twisted, and she glared at the older girl. _I hate you_ , she thought at the long-haired warrior, but she said nothing. She had learned that responding to Letta's taunting only prolonged it. Sure enough, Letta dropped her and turned away contemptuously after a few moments of silence. "Prideless," she said over her shoulder.

Before she was even aware of what she was doing, the younger Saiyan struck Letta's unprotected rear. But the other woman had already turned back around, catching Cana's thrown punch easily. She twisted the captured limb and the red-eyed girl gasped in pain.

"That's more like it," Letta said with satisfaction. "If you refuse to respect me as you should then at least you can show some spirit." The older girl gave a predatory smile and stepped closer, pressing her armored body against Cana's. "You know how much I love those pretty, angry eyes of yours."

Despite herself, Cana blushed, wishing she had a scouter or something else to cover her eyes, to take whatever pleasure Letta got from looking at them away. The long-haired woman laughed and released the younger Saiyan's hand, moving back a pace.

"What do you want?" Cana asked, hating how resigned she sounded.

Letta pointed at the discarded chest piece Cana had dropped. "Put that on," she said. "You're coming with Lenti and I on a..." the older woman smiled, "on a 'mission.'" The way she had said the word made it clear this was anything but an approved mission from the Saiyan peacekeepers.

"And if I say no?" Cana asked, but Letta was shaking her head even as she said it, still smiling.

"You won't," Letta purred. "This is extra training, and we all know how much you love that." Still, the younger woman hesitated, long enough that Letta's smile faded. She let out an angry sigh. "Do you know how easy it would be for me to knock you out?" she said. "I could shove your unconscious body into a space pod and force you to come with us." Her golden eyes narrowed and she tossed a long tress of her black hair over one shoulder. "Or... I could carry you outside, blast you into atoms, and be done with you."

As much as Cana wanted to call the older Saiyan's bluff, she knew it wasn't a bluff at all. She didn't doubt for a moment Letta would carry out her threat. And Lenti would be happy to do it even if his sister wasn't. Her life was entirely in the hands of the two cruelest Saiyans she had ever met.

So the red-eyed Saiyan did the only she could do. She agreed to go with them.

* * *

The entire time to the planet Grayne, Cana had wondered if this whole trip was just an elaborate ruse, an excuse for Letta and Lenti to put her in a situation where they could kill her without being questioned about it. A pitched battle would be the perfect place for her to disappear, and the Saiyan twins would be rid of what they considered a dangerous nuisance. The damnable thing was that – even if that were the case – there was nothing she could do to stop it. Her space pod was slaved to Letta's, meaning she was unable to change course or escape. And so she sat in a chamber not much larger than a coffin and waited for what could very likely be her own death.

What she found waiting on Grayne was much worse.

Cana had erred in assuming extortion was the limit of the illicit activities Letta and Lenti were involved with. They had also been brokering deals on their own behalf, serving as mercenaries for warring planets. The twins were here to defeat Grayne's army and prepare the planet for invasion.

Her heart sank within her when Letta explained the situation to her as they traveled. "You can't be serious," she said, more free to speak her mind since the cold vacuum of space insulated her from the twins' wrath. "This goes against every rule we have! It's the total opposite of what Saiyans are supposed to do!"

"You need to study your history," Lenti's voice rumbled through her scouter. "This is how we're meant to live: pillaging and conquering and destroying." He snorted in disgust. "Our race was polluted by off-world influences... trying to make us soft and weak."

"But _why_?" Cana asked. "Why do this?"

Letta was the one that responded this time. "Two reasons, little one: Fear and fun."

The younger Saiyan couldn't believe what she was hearing. "So you're going to take on a whole planet by yourselves for 'fun'? Even you two aren't strong enough for this."

"Are you _concerned_ for us?" Letta asked, her voice heavy with mockery even through the scouter. "You're so adorable." Cana's fists clenched in the confines of her pod.

Lenti laughed. "Yes, yes, very touching, but unnecessary," he said. "You see, Grayne has a moon, and we've timed our visit so we'll reach the planet right when its satellite is in its full cycle."

The blood drained from Cana's face. "You're going to use it to transform into Oozaru," she said.

"It's the safest way," Letta said, but she couldn't quite hide the disgust in her voice. "I have no love for the form of the Great Ape, but it will allow us to make short work of whatever paltry forces Grayne gathers to fight us."

"Three Oozaru will be more than enough to exterminate the Graynians," Lenti said, gleeful. "It will be a night of destruction unseen for hundreds of years." He laughed again, a sound tinged with more than mirth; sharp and high enough to sound like madness. Cana's heart went cold. _"_ _Three Oozaru,"_ he had said.

Even her fear of the twin Saiyans couldn't push her over this line. "I won't help you," she said.

Lenti was unmoved. "As if you have a choice," he said, and all laughter was gone. His tone was as black as the void their pods sailed through.

"I'd rather blast the door off my ship and suffocate than be part of this," Cana said, and her own voice was equally dark and cold.

"Either way works for me," Lenti said. If he thought she was bluffing, Cana was willing to prove him wrong. She refused to let them use her for something so odious. Her _ki_ level rose, and she deliberately held her energy high, wanting them to see on their scouters that she was prepared to follow through on her threat.

The male Saiyan laughed again, but Letta's voice was clear over his cackling. "That's enough, Cana," she said. "We won't make you help us. We didn't bring you here for that, just to keep you away from Chard while we're away." The red-eyed girl heard the words, but maintained her raised energy level for another few moments. "Cana!" Letta shouted.

 _Do it_ , she told herself. _Stop letting them have this power over you._ But Cana was still young. She didn't want to die, especially cold and alone in the vast emptiness of space for a cause that wouldn't save a single life. She let the _ki_ drain out of her.

"That's more like it," Letta said, but there was something more than the usual mockery in her tone. Something that the younger Saiyan refused to believe was relief.

* * *

Even from the interior of her space pod where Cana remained huddled – her scouter darkened to near-opacity to protect herself from the Blutz waves radiated by Grayne's full moon – she could see and hear the utter devastation caused the twin Saiyans. Cities were lit by massive domes of energy that reduced them to piles of rubble. Streams and rivers were blasted into steam. Forests became smoking craters punctuated by carbonized stumps. Fields were reduced to plains of dirt heated into glass.

And with each blow struck against Grayne, Cana watched Chard's vision of life fade into Lenti and Letta's vision of death.

The power of the Oozaru was truly frightening, and it was impossible to see it as anything other than a creature of pure destruction... the legacy of the Saiyans that even hundreds of years of peacekeeping wouldn't be able to erase. The people of Grayne didn't stand a chance. Cana did not weep for them, but her heart hardened inside her, almost all her remaining youth felt as if it had been shed in one terrible night.

At last, the sky brightened in one spot and grew brighter. The sun was rising over Grayne. Cana stumbled from her space pod on stiff legs, staring in all directions at a dead planet. There was no sound of sentient life or animals, only the cold howl of the wind. With a shaking hand, she reached up and activated her scouter. There were very few life forms remaining. On a planet that had once been home to hundreds of millions. The red-eyed Saiyan fell to her hands and knees, struggling to keep herself from vomiting.

 _This is... too horrible_ , she thought. An entire planet erased as if it had never been. And for what? _"Fear and fun,"_ she heard Letta say in her memory.

Cana's fingers curled in the dirt beneath her, raking deep furrows into the fallow ground. Her vision seemed to narrow, and a bloody veil descended over everything. She looked up, seeing the white dot that represented the older girl on her scouter. Lips peeled back in a snarl of hatred, Cana blasted forward, the ground breaking beneath her with the strength of her acceleration, just another wound on Grayne's surface.

She flew straight and true, surrounded by a glowing white aura of _ki_ energy. The red-eyed girl didn't care anymore about the difference in strength between her and her tormentors, she would stop them, or she would die. This couldn't be allowed to happen again. She dropped into the ruined remnants of a city, lifeless around her. Cana couldn't even feel upset by the desolation, her rage blinding her to all else.

"Letta!" She screamed into the emptiness. "Come out here!"

But the golden-eyed woman didn't answer her. Something else did. Cana heard the sound of falling rubble and turned towards it eagerly, hands already glowing yellow with gathered _ki._ It wasn't Letta that had appeared, though, or Lenti. It was a bipedal lizard carrying a massive sword and dressed in a tattered uniform emerging from a collapsed building ten meters away. Orange blood smeared the alien's entire body, leaking from a dozen wounds, and one eye was swollen shut. The other glared at her with such naked hostility that Cana took a step back, the glow fading from her hands.

"So..." the lizard-man said in the common language, heavily accented. "You finally show your true form, you Saiyan monster!" He leapt towards Cana with powerful legs, crossing half the distance in one bound, then pounding across the broken pavement for the remainder.

The young Saiyan staggered back, raising her hands to show she didn't intend to harm the creature. "No, wait," she began, but the lizard-man wasn't listening. He swung his huge blade in an arc that would have cut her in half at the waist if Cana hadn't jumped back. Her heel caught some loose rubble and she went down on her backside. Defenseless. "Please, don't!" Cana begged.

"You ask for mercy?!" The lizard-man roared at her. "After what you did to my people?! My planet?!"

"It wasn't me!" Cana protested. Again, the alien ignored her, and he raised his sword again, preparing to split her open from crown to navel.

Far away to the right, the red-eyed Saiyan heard Letta's voice. "Don't you touch her!" she shouted. But she was too distant to help, even if she was inclined to.

Cana raised one arm, and now there were tears in her eyes. "Please... stop..." she said. The lizard-man's muscles tensed, ready to swing, but he froze before he could attack, his one eye widening. He looked down to stare at the smoking hole in his chest. The one that Cana had just blasted through him.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. The alien was beyond hearing her, though, and it fell backwards, dead. She remained where she sat, staring at the spot the lizard-man had been standing, her eyes flat and empty. Letta reached her a moment later, braking to a halt in mid-air and landing beside her.

The golden-eyed woman looked over the younger Saiyan, seeing if she was wounded, then examined the dead alien. Letta shot Cana a cruel smile.

"Good girl," she said.

* * *

A handful of gold and jewelry rained down onto the bed next to where Cana sat, knees drawn up to her chest, red eyes staring at nothing. She had found this room nearly undamaged in the ruins of the devastated city where she had had her confrontation with the native lizard-man. Time had passed while she sat, unaware of the whether hours or years had gone by. Her mind was blank, refusing to face the truth of what she had done.

How she had become a part – however small – of Lenti and Letta's unforgivable genocide.

Cana didn't look at the person responsible for the precious metals that had been set beside her. She didn't need to. She knew who it was.

"What's this for?" the red-eyed Saiyan asked, her voice emotionless.

Letta's tone was smug. "It's your cut of today's action," she said.

The younger Saiyan kept her eyes fixed partway up the stone wall in front of her. "Seems a bit steep," Cana said. Her voice lowered to a whisper, "For killing one injured alien who was just trying to avenge his people."

Letta either didn't notice her tone or didn't care. "We have the combined wealth of an entire planet available to plunder before our clients get here," the golden-eyed woman said. Cana winced at the use of the term "our". "This is barely a drop in the bucket."The older girl circled around in front of her, blocking the red-eyed Saiyan's view of the cracked wall. "I have more for you if that's not enough." She held up a luxurious silk robe festooned with tiny glimmering stones.

Cana barely looked at the garment. "I don't want it," she said.

"Oh, so you'd rather have killed that creature for _nothing_?" Letta said sarcastically. "How noble."

Cana leapt up from the bed, eyes narrowed in fury. "Don't you _dare_ lecture me!" she shouted.

"We have discussed," Letta said with strained patience, her anger gathering like a storm, "your problem with gratitude." She threw the garment against Cana's chest and it fell to the floor at her feet. "I am giving you a gift, and you _will_ accept it. Now put it on."

A trickle of fear ran through Cana. She bent to take the robe – which was much shorter than she had originally thought – in one hand and waited for Letta to leave so she could change.

"Put. It. On," the older girl said again, and Cana's heart sank. Letta wasn't going to give her any privacy. Self-consciously, the red-eyed Saiyan slipped out of her battle armor, cheeks burning under the long-haired woman's molten gaze, and put on the soft garment she had received as a gift, belting it securely at the waist. The hem of the robe barely went to mid-thigh, and Cana felt horribly exposed and vulnerable.

She felt Letta's eyes rake up and down her body and saw the woman's pink tongue flick out to lick her lips. Cana shivered. "Very fetching, little one," Letta purred. "Fit to be a Saiyan princess." The taller woman stepped forward and took Cana's chin in one hand, forcing her to meet Letta's gaze. "Or at least to be the hand-maiden of a warrior queen," she said with a smirk.

Despite her fear and embarrassment, Cana found a core of defiance. "Not interested," she said.

Letta's smirk turned hard-edged, and she shoved the younger Saiyan against the wall, pushing her own body up against Cana's. "You're lucky I find your spirit so adorable, little one," she said, her voice deceptively soft. "But you don't seem to realize how much you owe me. Lenti would have killed you if it I hadn't stopped him. You're still alive only because _I_ say so. So while your resistance is cute..." her vice-like grip tightened. "It's also getting very tiresome."

"What do you want from me?" Cana asked, unshed tears of rage and humiliation in her eyes.

"It's not what you can give, little one," Letta said. "It's what I can take from you. Maybe I'll take everything you have. Maybe I won't. It's my decision to make." She leaned closer, her breath warm against the younger girl's ear. "Keep that in mind next time you defy me."

Cana tried to lean back, to open some space between them, but with her back to the wall she had nowhere to go. "But _why_?"

"Because I want to," Letta explained coldly. "Because I can. I see the resistance in those pretty, angry eyes of yours. The way you think you're better than us. It makes me want to crush you. It makes me want to break you and show you that you're just like me."

"Today, you took a step in that direction." Letta gave the younger Saiyan a humorless smile. "How does it feel?"


	5. Chapter 5

_**NOW...**_

Cold and discomfort greeted her when she awoke. The junction of her shoulder and neck ached from where the old man had struck her, and she shifted her position to try and relieve the pain. Sand and gravel slid away from Cana as she moved; a chill wind made her shiver. Something about her circumstances put a heavy fear deep in the pit of her stomach.

Several moments passed while she lay there, trying to convince herself to open her eyes, fighting her paranoia. At last, she did so, and her blurred vision eventually cleared enough for her to make out a sky full of stars.

The fear blossomed into full-blown terror, but her thoughts were still too scattered to realize why. _Where am I?_ She wondered. The girl staggered to her feet, looking around with squinted eyes, one hand held to her head. The world was drawn in shades of black and blue, lit only faintly by the glowing embers of the stars overhead, and it took a minute before her pupils dilated enough to allow her to see any details of her surroundings.

Cana had regained consciousness in a wasteland. Sand stretched in every direction, littered with rocks of varying sizes. Tall pillars of stone pointed skyward like the fingers of giants. The only plants she could make out were skinny scrub-brush and tumbleweeds. She swallowed, throat dry, dread weighing on her movements as she stared up at one particular plateau that almost seemed to glow eerily. The desolate landscape reminded her of Grayne after Lenti and Letta had destroyed it. She would have been able to recall it perfectly even if the event hadn't haunted her dream. If she closed her eyes, she could still see the sheer devastation that the twin Saiyans had wrought using their...

 _Oh, no_.

The glow behind the rock pillar intensified as the swollen, gibbous moon rose above it, only one night past full. More than enough.

 _No, no, no! Don't look at it!_ she commanded herself. But Cana couldn't seem to make herself turn away. Her mouth gaped open, and her tail unwound from beneath her shirt to stretch out behind her, bristling as if she was touching a high voltage wire. Hands curled into fists, and her chest rose and fell spasmodically as she took huge gulps of air. She felt herself grow taller and broader, heard her school uniform rip as it shredded, nearly disintegrating as her body expanded, her glasses snapping apart. Brown fur the same shade as that of her tail sprouted all over her body.

Conscious thought became impossible, and a red veil descended over her vision, painting the desert a bloody hue. There was no past, no future, nothing but bottomless rage, hunger, and a distant sense of betrayal.

The fifty-foot tall Oozaru that Cana had become raised its massive arms into the sky and roared, loud enough to shake the pillars of rock, sending huge stones plummeting to the ground. The desert quaked, and small animals fled in all directions. Instinctively, the wild creatures knew what had just happened.

Death had arrived.

* * *

The master of the Crane school stood on a tall bluff of rock, observing. He wasn't "watching" so much as "feeling"... the blindness of his two human eyes had reduced him to the vision granted to him by the third, which was more about sensing energy than visual input. The sedge hat was gone, revealing his bald head, which he still kept shaved in the old martial artist tradition. His posture was straight and proud now, bereft of the partially affected slump of age. Tenshinhan was old and not as powerful as he used to be, but he was far from weak.

Still, the transformation of the disguised Saiyan known as Cana into her Great Ape form was enough to quicken even his heartbeat. When the creature roared, his blood ran like ice in his veins. _Such power_ , he thought. _I haven't felt this in a long time_. Not since the Saiyan blood in Goku and Vegeta's descendants had grown so weak that they were – for all intents and purposes – human. Not since the last of the great battles, when peace had reigned and the need for the kind of strength those heroes had was gone.

Even though humanity had taken – as Vegeta had once put it – "their first, small stride towards becoming a warrior race", having higher potentials then they had seven generations ago, even the strongest of this generation could not compare to a transformed Saiyan. Tien himself could be in danger. The thought made him smile. He had been alive a long time, though not even half as long as old Master Roshi had. It would be the height of irony if he met his end due to his own recklessness.

He almost laughed, but Cana's Oozaru form – complete with a shock of spiked fur on top of its long-snouted head similar to the girl's hair – had begun to smash its way across the desert. Pillars of rock that had stood for thousands of years were broken as easily as if they were made of balsam wood. The obscenely swollen moon glared demonically above the scene. A shiver ran through Tien's aged form, and it had nothing to do with the nighttime cold of the wasteland.

"Are you looking for someone?" he called, as loud as his old lungs could manage. The monster stopped in its rampage and turned towards the sound of his voice. Glowing red eyes narrowed under bestial brows, and its snout split in what could have been a satisfied grin. Cana roared, and Tien could actually feel the vibrations of the sound and their echo in waves of _ki_ energy.

Tien readied himself, preparing to jump away from the creature's inevitable charge, but he had forgotten just how fast a Great Ape could move, despite how big it was. A massive paw crashed into the bluff where he had just been standing, and he barely ducked the follow-up backhand. The old master's breath rattled in his chest as he leapt and dodged, sweat beading on his brow. He hadn't exerted himself like this in quite some time. It was almost... enjoyable. He could practically hear Goku's carefree laugh.

This confrontation wasn't for his amusement, however. He had told Cana the truth about wanting to awaken the beast inside her, but he had no intention of letting it remain free. It wasn't going to be easy... he wished he had brought Chiaotzu with him, but – while his best friend for over a hundred years still looked as young as ever – his mind was not what it was. Tien would not risk his life for this.

The old man continued to spring and evade, always just managing to get away before a hand or foot or even tail struck him. He had not been hit yet, but he could not keep this up forever. A series of jumps brought him to the top of the tallest rock formation, high enough that he was out of the Oozaru's reach. For a moment, Tien stood there, regaining his breath, before focusing his energy in an invisible column beneath himself, soaring into the sky with _bukujutsu_.

Behind him, the moon shone brightly, putting his seemingly frail body in silhouette. Tien raised his hands in a specific way, the four fingers of each hand spread, but all pointing towards his face, like a reverse of an impression of the sun's rays. Below him, Cana opened her mouth full of razor-sharp teeth, a glow building deep in her throat. The old man unleashed his _ki_ in a massive burst, lighting the desert as if it were daytime.

"Taiyo-ken!" He shouted.

He was almost too late. The Oozaru spewed a torrent of energy at him just as Tien used his technique, which blinded the monster. The Crane master flickered away in a rarely-needed display of super speed just before the killing wave of argent power reached him.

Cana's great paws went automatically to her eyes with a deafening roar of pain, covering them, protecting them from Tien's Taiyo-ken, but it was far too late. The creature she had become would be blinded for now. Long enough for the old man to finish his task. He reappeared on a different rock formation behind the Oozaru, breathing heavily. The short fight against a much stronger opponent was taking its toll on him. He would only have one chance to end it.

One aged hand rose, and Tien harnessed his _ki_ in a different method. A small, whirring disc of amber energy appeared above his palm, growing as the old man fed more power into it. The flattened circle of _ki_ could cut through almost anything and was nearly unblockable. His old friend Krillin had used this attack with some success, and the Crane master only hoped he would share it. Tien aimed carefully, knowing that his life depended on hitting his target.

"Kienzan!" he cried, throwing the disc. It flew straight and true, droning like a buzzsaw as it soared through the air. Just as the Great Ape lifted its head, red eyes blinking, trying to clear its vision of the last strobing blobs of light that had blinded it, the disc struck. The Oozaru's mouth opened in a silent roar of shock and pain, and Tien felt a moment of regret for hurting the transformed girl.

With a crash, the monster's severed tail hit the ground, splashing loose sand and dirt into the air in a smoky haze. Cana began to shrink back to her normal size, the coarse fur fading from her contracting form. It took only moments, but when it was over, she was just a naked girl sprawled on her stomach in the wasteland.

Tien took a deep breath, feeling wearier than he ever remembered being. Now it was time to see if his newest pupil had learned anything from his lesson.

* * *

She didn't so much awaken as come back to her senses. Awareness filtered back into her brain, washing away the red tide of the Oozaru's rage. Everything hurt, she was cold, and there was a strange numbness in her tail. The chill breeze puckered her flesh and she realized she was naked. Even as that thought became clear, she felt something drape over her body.

"Here, put this on," the old man said.

Cana ignored him. She rolled to her feet, pushing the pain to the back of her mind, and charged the figure that stood several meters away, facing away from her, a darker shape against the blackness that was all her aching eyes could see. Only two steps into her attack, the Saiyan fell to the ground, unable to keep her balance. _What the hell...?_ she wondered. More careful now, she stood up again, swaying where she stood. Something was wrong. She took an experimental step and went down on her hands and knees, head hanging down, staring down the length of her body.

That's when she realized her tail was gone.

Her head snapped back up to glare at the old man's back. "What did you _do_ to me?" she asked, furious.

"You were rampaging, girl," the Crane master said. "I had to remove your tail, or you would have caused even more damage, and you wouldn't have stopped until daybreak."

Cana had crawled back to the clothes that the old man had tossed on top of her, sneering as she realized it was one of the green uniforms of the Crane School. She pulled it on quickly, grateful in the back of her mind that the ancient was giving her some privacy, despite his apparent blindness, unlike...

 _Don't think about it!_ She commanded herself. "Well whose fault is that?" she growled out loud. "What were you trying to prove bringing me out here? I could have killed you!"

"You underestimate me, girl," the old man said, his voice low. "And I needed to prove that you were a Saiyan."

The red-eyed girl belted the gi securely and climbed, very slowly, to her feet, trying to get used to the absence of her tail, which had helped balance her. She realized she had to lean back a bit to compensate for the change in weight. "There were easier ways," Cana said. "You could have just seen if I had a tail while I was unconscious. I'd still be pissed, but it would still be less of a violation than _this_ was."

The old man seemed to sense that she had finished dressing and turned to face her. "I am sorry for that," he said, and he sounded sincere. "But you misunderstand. I wasn't trying to prove you were a Saiyan for my own sake." His blind gaze seemed to sharpen on her.

"I was trying to prove it for yours."

Her first instinct was to laugh. "You think I don't know I'm a Saiyan?" she asked, incredulous.

"I think you do everything you can to pretend you aren't," the Crane master said. "Not just to the outside world, but to yourself as well." He paused, and took a step closer. "I sense... something happened in your past. Something traumatic. You ran. And you swore you wouldn't fight again."

"You don't know anything about me," Cana said, her throat tight. The old man's shrewd guesses were disconcerting. "And I'm not going to tell you a damn thing, so don't ask."

The ancient sighed. "Believe it or not, I sympathize with you, girl," he said. "But it's not hard to see the conflict in you. You live among the humans, but you don't remove your own tail. You choose not to fight, but you watch my students train ever day. You live alone, and – aside from Jesi – you have no other friends." He shook his head sadly. "You're torn between two worlds."

Cana crossed her arms and looked away. "I get by," she said, but she was surprised at the lump in her throat as she spoke.

The two were silent for a moment, the cold wind howling across the desert and the crack of a falling rock the only sound in the stillness of the night. Instinctively, Cana kept her head down, averting her eyes from the white face of the moon, though – without her tail – it no longer held any logical fear for her.

"It's no way to live, Cana," the old man said at last, using her name for the first time. "You need to find out who and what you are, and you can't do that hiding in West City."

"What are you saying?" she asked. "I have to decide if I'm going to be an Earthling or a Saiyan?"

To her surprise, the Crane master laughed, an unexpectedly warm sound. "Not at all. One of my greatest friends was _both_. No, but you have to decide whether you're a Saiyan in exile or a Saiyan who has made Earth her home."

"I live here, don't I?" Cana asked, spreading her arms in a shrug.

"Home is a place you know well," the old man responded. "I've been watching you for a while, girl. This is the farthest you've been from West City. You don't know Earth at all."

Another silence. "What do you suggest?" Cana asked after a moment.

The old man seemed to let out a breath of relief. "As I said before, an exchange of favors," he said. "I will provide you a means to discover yourself, and – in turn – you will help me."

"How?" Cana asked, suspicious.

"Jesi," the ancient said simply. "She's my best student, you know this, but she needs someone who can challenge her, who can push her to her limits. Not an enemy, but someone who can grow with her as a martial artist." He paused, adding weight to his next statement. "I believe you fit that role nicely."

Although her Saiyan heart soared at the thought of helping Jesi on her path to power, Cana kept her face straight. "You would train me?" she asked.

A chuckle escaped the old man's lips. "No," he said. "You don't need training. You need _conditioning_." He closed the distance between them and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sending you on a journey, Cana. One that will likely have you going across the globe in search of... a certain treasure." He smiled. "You will see the world, you will become stronger, and maybe... maybe you'll even find out who you're meant to be and where you belong."

The spiky-haired girl stared at the ancient, hope and fear warring in her heart. She had been frightened for so long, first of Lenti and Letta, then – later – fear of discovery on Earth, fear of herself and her own Saiyan heritage. She was still afraid, but the old man's words struck a chord deep inside her. Maybe the answers she needed were out there, if she just had the courage to go and find them.

"Well?" the old man prompted.

Cana took a deep breath and looked straight into Master Tenshinhan's blank, blind eyes. "When do I start?"


	6. Chapter 6

" _You should set out as soon as the school year ends,"_ the old man had said.

The following three weeks were a whirl of hope and trepidation, boredom and excitement, and anxiety and depression. Cana felt as if she should be preparing for her quest, but she owned almost nothing, had no way of knowing where she was supposed to go aside from her starting point, and didn't even know for sure when she would be back. The way the Crane master had spoken, it sounded as if it might be possible for her to return in time for the start of her senior year, but who could say what might happen?

Cana could only take one definitive step in readying herself for the ordeal ahead of her, and that was to begin training again. She did so in a limited, cautious fashion, still unsure of herself, still fighting past demons, but she cleared a space in her tiny dorm room for push-ups and sit-ups, and would sometimes return to the wasteland at night – her reason for fearing the moon gone with her tail – to do more intensive training.

It was dismaying to her to find how good it felt to work out again. Two years on Earth and she hadn't shed her Saiyan instincts at all. Often, Cana would consider asking Jesi to train with her, but something always held her back. A fear of failure, perhaps, or of making her friend feel betrayed that the older girl had kept her heritage and her talents hidden all this time, especially since Master Tien had already told Jesi that he had declined to take Cana on as a student.

More than anything it was Cana's desire to keep their friendship as it had been that kept her from asking.

That connection was both her greatest comfort and, as the time for her departure drew ever nearer, the source of her nervousness. She had hinted several times during the month that she might be taking a trip over summer vacation, but – while Jesi had been supportive, even suggesting possible destinations – it was clear to Cana that the red-head was humoring her, not believing that her reclusive friend would be so adventurous.

It wasn't until the day before she was to leave, when Jesi visited her dorm room after school and saw that Cana's meager possessions had all been packed away in a small travel bag, that the younger girl finally understood her friend had been serious.

"You're really going to do this?" Jesi asked for the umpteenth time, sitting on the little twin bed, face in her hands, looking glumly at the red-eyed girl sitting in the desk chair less than a foot away.

The hurt in the other girl's eyes and voice made Cana's chest ache, but she couldn't deny it. "I think... I have to," she said. "You know me, Jes, you know how small my life is. I can't live my whole life hiding in my room and being afraid of the dark."

"There's nothing wrong with you," Jesi said, her tone firm. "And if anyone has said anything to make you feel like there is, I'm going to kick their ass."

"No one said anything to me," Cana said, smiling despite herself at her friend's instant and fierce desire to protect her. "I've just been doing a lot of thinking. I mean... what am I gonna' do after I graduate? I don't have a clue."

"You're not supposed to have everything figured out by the time you graduate," Jesi insisted.

Cana pursed her lips, hating how she had to keep skirting the truth, but still unwilling to be completely honest with the other girl. "But I don't feel like I have _anything_ figured out," she said.

Jesi sighed, shaking her head. "It's just an awfully big step for you to take all at once, Cana."

"I need to do this," the Saiyan said, pushing her glasses – a new pair to replace the ones that had broken during her transformation into an Oozaru – a bit further up her nose. "I need to figure out who I'm supposed to be."

"You're you," Jesi said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, reaching across the short gap between them to take one of Cana's hands in her own. "That's always been enough for me." She squeezed. "But if you're really going through with it, I'll support you."

The older girl blinked back tears and squeezed back. "Thanks, Jes," she said, her voice hoarse with emotion. "You're the best." Cana paused, glancing down. "Leaving you is going to be the hardest part of this."

"It better be," Jesi said, her sad smile turning into her usual infectious grin. "You have to miss me every day you're gone. Promise?"

"Count on it," Cana laughed.

* * *

The next day was a blur, and if someone had asked her what she had done on the last day of her Junior year of highschool, Cana would not have been able to answer them. She floated along as if in a dream, fingers tapping restlessly on her desk, staring at nothing, and going over her decision over and over in her mind. She had not been lying to Jesi about the need she felt to go on this journey, but – one way or the other – she knew her life was going to change dramatically again.

At last, the tone sounded, signaling the end of the day, and Cana's boisterous classmates laughed and socialized their ways through the doors and out into the world. The disguised Saiyan followed in a daze, dizzy at the thought of emerging from the protective, sheltered life she had lived here in West City.

She was afraid.

 _Some Saiyan warrior you are_ , she thought at herself in disgust. But that was unfair. She had stripped herself of that identity two years ago.

Jesi caught up, walking alongside her, looking determined. The one thing Cana had been aware of on-and-off throughout the long day was her best friend watching her, a worried expression on her face. Cana guessed what the red-head was going to say before she said it, having hoped and dreaded the words since their conversation yesterday.

"I'm coming with you," the younger girl said without preamble.

Cana was already shaking her head, though she desperately wanted to say yes. "You can't, Jes," she said.

"Why not?" Jesi challenged. "I'm less than a year younger than you are, and I'm better prepared for something like this. My parents will understand." She snorted a brief laugh. "They'd probably be happy to get me out of the house for a while."

The Saiyan girl fought back a smile. She knew how Jesi's parents didn't see eye-to-eye with their tomboyish daughter, even more so since the young fighter had a tendency to break parts of the house when she was training at home. Despite that, she had always been able to see the genuine affection on both sides of the family relationship. The smile faded. It was something that she had never experienced herself. Cana's parents had died when she was still quite young, and she had been taken in by the Saiyan Peacekeepers at only eight cycles.

"This is something I have to do on my own," Cana said, shaking away the thoughts of her lost past. "Besides, you have your training to focus on." Now she did smile at the red-haired girl. "The World Tournament, Jes!"

Jesi was unmoved. "I might not even be chosen," she said.

"You will," Cana said, her tone leaving no room for argument. "You're the best fighter the old man has."

The younger girl's cheeks pinked in a blush at the praise. "Do you really think so?" she asked, voice small.

"Absolutely," Cana confirmed. "And you'll prove it to the him and to all the others. You're going to the Budokai Tenkaichi... you're going to live your dream." She gave her friend an encouraging smile, jerking a thumb back over her shoulder to indicate the school. "We're both gonna' come back here in a few months stronger people."

Jesi didn't answer or smile back, just stared up at her taller friend with her bright green eyes. "I'm worried about you," she said at last.

A laugh burst from Cana. "Aren't you always the one trying to get me to join the Crane School? Telling me I'm strong enough to be a student?" She waved the concern away, though she appreciated it deeply. "I'm tougher than you're giving me credit for."

"I'm sorry," Jesi sighed. "I'm making it sound like you're dumb or helpless and I know you're not. I just... I don't know. We've been watching out for each other since you came here." She took the older girl's arm in her own and leaned her head against Cana as they walked. "I feel like I should be there for you."

Cana smiled down at her friend. "The one who should be worried is me," she said. "The old man is going to run you ragged getting you ready for the tournament." The smile faded. "Don't let your guard down anymore."

"Yeah, yeah," Jesi said. The duo walked in silence for several minutes until they reached a familiar intersection. The Crane School was to the east, the direction the pair walked every day after school.

Cana would be going west. Deeper into the city.

By mutual, silent agreement, they both halted at the crossroads. Neither of them wanted to be the first to leave. Cana bit her lip, trying in vain to think of one last thing to say to her friend before they parted... to wish her luck, to reassure her, just to say goodbye, but no words came.

The burden was taken from her a moment later, when Jesi threw her arms around the older girl and hugged her tightly. "Be safe out there, Cana," she said, cheek against the Saiyan's shoulder. "And keep in touch if you can."

"I'll try," Cana said, blushing. They stood there for a moment, and the taller girl hesitantly reached up to stroke Jesi's fiery hair. "You better go," she said, her voice low. Jesi nodded against her shoulder and pulled back, mustering up one of her grins.

"See you soon," the red-head said with as much good cheer as she could manage. She waved and turned away, heading towards the Crane School.

Cana watched for a minute, fighting a sense of panic as her only friend walked away. Then Jesi turned one last time, waving her arm in farewell, bringing up her other hand to use as a makeshift megaphone to amplify her voice. "Get going!" she shouted, and Cana could hear the teasing laughter in her friend's voice.

The Saiyan smiled and headed west.

* * *

" _Have you ever heard the legend of the seven mystical Dragon Balls?" Master Tien asked, hands clasped behind him, standing before her in the desert that night._

 _Cana looked up at him, skeptical. "Should I have?"_

 _The old man smiled, blind eyes looking at nothing. "It's an old story," he said. "Hundreds of years ago, the Guardian of this planet created an image of a great dragon, and linked its power to glowing orange orbs, each with a corresponding number of stars... one star, two star, all the way up to seven stars. When the seven Dragon Balls are brought together, Shenron – the dragon – can be summoned and will grant two wishes, after which the balls scatter across the world again."_

" _Sounds like a kid's story," Cana sniffed._

" _Oh, it's true, girl," Master Tien said. "I've seen their power; experienced it. I've been brought back to life more than once with wishes from the eternal dragon."_

 _The Saiyan couldn't help herself. "Is that why you're so old?" she asked._

 _She thought the Crane master would get annoyed, but he just chuckled. "No, that's clean living."_

" _So you want me to find these... Dragon Balls?" Cana said. "What do you want them for?"_

 _The old man raised an eyebrow. "Who says I want them for anything?" Seeing Cana's confused look, he continued. "Let me tell you another story..." The Saiyan girl unsuccessfully bit down on a groan, and – again – the old man humored her instead of getting angry. "You may like this one better," he said, and took a deep breath._

" _When I was a young man, there was a boy named Goku," he began. "He had been found by an aged martial artist by the name of Son Gohan, adopted, and trained, but Gohan was killed by a rampaging beast during a full moon when Goku was still young." Cana risked a glance skyward, to where the swollen moon still hung in the dark sky. "He lived on his own for a while with only an orange globe with four stars as a memento of his deceased guardian, until he was found by a girl who was searching for the Dragon Balls. The orb was the four-star ball, and the girl convinced Goku to help her search for the others."_

 _Master Tien smiled faintly, caught in his memories. "So this boy traveled all across the world, making friends, righting wrongs, learning new things all along the way. After he helped his new friends summon Shenron, he became a student of the Turtle Hermit, Master Roshi, where he grew even stronger, and entered the World Martial Arts Tournament, almost winning at age twelve."_

 _Cana whistled despite herself. "He must have been quite a prodigy," she said._

" _He was extraordinary all right," the old man said, coughing dryly into one hand. "After the tournament he went on another journey to find the lost four-star ball, which he did, though he had to defeat an entire army to reclaim it. By that time, another Budokai was being held, and Goku entered again." The Crane Master shook his head. "I barely managed to beat him."_

" _His adventures continued on from there," Master Tien said with a sigh. "The Demon King, Piccolo, awoke, killing many before Goku could stop him. Three years later, the boy defeated King Piccolo's progeny at the 23_ _rd_ _World Martial Arts Tournament, winning the contest." He paused, seeming to look the girl up and down. "He was about your age, actually."_

" _This is interesting, but..." Cana began._

 _The old man interrupted her. "Years passed. Goku got married, had a son... but when his child was only four years old, Goku's brother Raditz arrived, revealing the long-forgotten truth: Goku's given name was 'Kakarot'." Cana stared. Those names weren't human names, they were..._

" _He was a Saiyan," Master Tien finished._

" _Wait," Cana said, holding up her hands. "Goku is_ that _Kakarot? The one who befriended Prince Vegeta?"_

 _The Crane Master nodded, the ghost of a smile on his face. "So you know of him?"_

" _Their descendants are the ones that founded the Saiyan peacekeepers," Cana explained in a rush. "Prince Vegeta and Kakarot are... legends." She looked up at the old man, wonder in her eyes. "The planet where they met and first fought each other... that was Earth?"_

" _It was," the old man confirmed. "The start of that legend was here, with the very same quest I'm sending you on."_

 _Cana couldn't help herself. She grinned, excited. "Wow," she breathed._

 _Master Tien laughed. "Hold on to that enthusiasm, girl," he said. "Because you have three months to retrieve the Dragon Balls."_

" _How will I know how to find them?" the Saiyan asked, shaking herself free of her star-struck musings._

" _What you'll find at your first stop will help you know what the next step will be," the old man said, waving away her question. "After that, you're on your own." Cana nodded, biting her lip, already thinking and planning the adventure ahead. "Oh, and one more thing," Master Tien added. "As little flying as possible. Remember, this is conditioning and learning. You can't see anything or work your muscles flying through the sky."_

 _Cana frowned. "You want me to trek all over the world, looking for objects that could be literally everywhere, on foot, in three months?"_

 _The old man stepped forward and put a warm hand on her shoulder. "I have the utmost confidence in you, girl," he said._

* * *

" _What you'll find at your first stop will help you know what the next step will be."_

Cana glanced up from the map she had been given, brow furrowed, wondering if she had somehow gotten mixed up. She re-read the address on her map, matching it up to the designation on the nearby wall: WST 3338926 K. The huge, hemispherical building in front of her was familiar enough even to her – she and Jesi had passed it several times when visiting downtown West City – but she found it hard to believe that the old man had intended her to come here. _Can't hurt to ask, I guess,_ she thought with an internal shrug, walking up to the gate set in a gap in the surrounding wall.

The structure was a massive dome, the shape broken by two small towers – east and west – and striated with long windows. The words "Capsule Corp" were painted in blue on the side of the building facing the street. Cana knew about the Capsule Corporation, the creators of the "dyno-caps" that had made life so convenient all over the planet. The science behind the capsules was still a closely guarded secret, but they allowed large objects to be transported in tiny containers – the titular capsules – and expanded to normal size in only a moment. Food, water, clothing, vehicles, and even buildings could be moved around with almost no effort thanks to dyno-caps.

But capsules were not all the corporation had created. The omni-present service robots that manned shops and restaurants throughout the city were also Capsule Corp's work, as well as many other high-tech devices. It was easy to see how the company had continued to exist for over two hundred years under the tight but amicable control of the Briefs family.

Cana slowed to a halt at the closed gate, peering at the building behind it, still unsure if this was truly her destination. A spherical service robot, nearly man-sized, rolled up from the other side of the gate on tank-like treads.

"How may I assist you?" the mechanical being asked, its polite voice metallic, but lower than other robots Cana had seen. That and its size told her that – while helpful – it could probably also be used as an effective guard, removing riff-raff and undesirables. The Saiyan girl bit back a smile, imagining herself blasting through the gate and the guard with little effort. She doubted that the Briefs family had anticipated someone like her coming to visit.

Letta would have done so. Lenti _definitely_ would have done so. Cana did not. "Hello," she said, deciding to take the robot at face value as a living being rather than just a machine. "I was told to come here by Master Tenshinhan of the Crane School. Can you let me through?"

The robot hummed to itself, staring at her with its one large optic sensor. "Are you Cana?" it asked at last. The girl nodded. "Identification, please."

Cana pursed her lips for a moment, considering, then dug in her pockets for her Black Star school ID. She held it up and the robot examined it for several seconds. "Acceptable," it said. The gate retracted into the wall. "You may enter."

Swallowing her nervousness, Cana stepped through the gate, nodding her thanks to the guard robot, which ignored her. She heard the gate grind close again. Ahead of her, the main entrance opened and another, smaller robot appeared, of the same general shape as the first machine. It rolled within five feet of her and bowed. "Greetings," it said, and its voice was female, but still metallic. "Follow me, please."

 _This is already weird,_ Cana thought, letting the robot lead her through the entrance and into the main Capsule Corp building, which was even larger than she had first thought. The alien and the machine went past a reception desk – manned by even more robots – and through an impressive atrium, big enough that Cana could almost believe she was outside again. Trees and grass grew in the open space, and animals roamed freely through the enclosure, a stark contrast to the cold, mechanical beings that she had seen thus far.

Several minutes of walking, through halls and up a set of stairs, and Cana was led into a laboratory. Computers hummed and beeped on every side, papers and capsules littered the desktops, and several robots were in various states of repair, pieces scattered in every corner. But all of that was secondary to the Saiyan's attention. The first thing she noticed was the young woman seemingly buried waist-deep in a storage cabinet, balanced on her knees, shorts-covered backside waving in the open. Cana glanced away, embarrassed, clearing her throat.

"Come on, where is it?" a muffled voice came from the cabinet. "I know we haven't used it in a while, but it's not the kind of thing you stick in a closet and forget about."

"Mistress Gatta," the robot said, interrupting the stream of complaints and curses emanating from the cabinet. "Your guest has arrived." There was an exclamation of surprise, a loud thump, and an even louder curse before the young woman finally extricated herself from the box, rubbing her head.

She was about Cana's height and wore glasses, too, though the lenses were thick enough that it was obvious that they weren't decorative like the Saiyan girl's were. Straight, lavender hair hung around the pale oval of her face, and her eyes were a bright, lively blue. "Oh! Hey there!" she said, face red. "Sorry about this. Master Tien contacted us weeks ago, but with one thing and then another, we couldn't get around to it, and now you're here and I still can't find the silly thing." She stepped forward, extending a hand. "My name's Gatta Briefs," she said with a genuine-looking smile. "You must be Cana." Her eyes flicked to the robot. "You're excused," she said. The robot bowed and rolled past Cana and out the door.

"That's right," Cana said with a faint grin, shaking the proffered hand, amused and a bit breathless at the young woman's rush of words and activity. She looked Gatta over as she stepped back, admitting that she was about as different from what she had expected an heir to the Capsule Corporation to look like as possible. Gatta was dressed very casual, with short denim shorts and a black tank-top that exposed her cleavage, which was considerable. The woman didn't seem the least bit self-conscious about how she looked. "For the record," Cana continued, glancing around the room, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Gatta's mouth opened in surprise. "You don't?" she said. "I thought that's the whole reason Tien sent you here."

Cana quirked a grin at the other woman. "The old man didn't tell me _what_ I was supposed to pick up," she said.

"That sounds like him," Gatta said, putting one hand on her hip and brushing back a lock of lavender hair with the other. "He's one of those 'the journey is the destination' types. Won't tell you any more than you need to know at the moment." She scratched her head and let out a huff of breath. "Well you're _supposed_ to be getting our Dragon Radar," she said. "If we could find it." Without a trace of shame, the young woman got back on her hands and knees and promptly dove back into the same cabinet.

"Dragon Radar?" Cana asked, smiling and rolling her eyes.

"Something one of my ancestors invented," Gatta answered from the depths of the container. "It operates by detecting a certain kind of electromagnetic frequency emitted only by the Dragon Balls. Completely unaffected by height or depth or surroundings, too. Real nice piece of work." There was a crash from within the cabinet, and the young woman cursed again. "The principle is sound, so all we really managed to do was make the thing smaller." The digging from within became more frantic. "Of course, that's the problem. We made it so small that I can't find it!"

The Saiyan's face had gone from confusion at the technical explanation, to bemusement at the other woman's actions, to silent laughter.

A new voice came from behind her, and she stepped aside as another figure entered the room. It was a male a little younger than Gatta, with turquoise hair drawn back in a small ponytail and similar blue eyes. He was shirtless – revealing well-formed muscles on arms and chest – and wore the bottoms of a tracksuit, a towel draped around his neck, one end in each hand.

"I think I'm ready for a fourth drone, Gatta," he was saying. "I can take down the three I'm using now without a scratch, and -" he broke off, spotting the bottom half of Gatta. "Oh, for... put some pants on!" he yelled.

A flushed Gatta emerged from the cabinet again, though Cana couldn't tell if the coloration was from anger, exertion, or embarrassment. Maybe all three. "I'm wearing _shorts_ ," she explained. "And you're one to talk. Why aren't you wearing a shirt?"

"Because I was training," the young man said. "And you specifically told me not to come in here when I was all sweat-stained."

Gatta smirked at Cana, who had backed into a corner, watching the little drama play out in front of her with increasing levels of discomfort. "Charming, isn't he?" the lavender-haired woman said.

The young man glanced at Cana, then gave a double-take, mouth agape. He blushed. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there," he said, scratching the back of his head and doing a kind of half-bow. "My name's Bockser," he said, and jerked his head in Gatta's direction. "I'm her younger brother."

" _Baby_ brother," Gatta corrected him with a faint smile. She crossed her arms under breasts, fixing him with a stare. "Have you seen the Dragon Radar, Bock?"

"That old thing?" Bockser asked, sounding surprised. He walked deeper into the room, squeezing past his sister and taking her place buried in the cabinet.

Gatta sighed. "I already looked," she said. "It's not in there." Moments later, the young man rose, a device no larger than a watch in one hand. Gatta stamped one foot. "Are you kidding me?" she asked. Bockser grinned, and his sister snatched the watch from him.

The young woman went up to Cana, indicating that she should raise her hand. The Saiyan complied, and Gatta went about removing the Saiyan's normal watch securing the Dragon Radar to her right wrist. Cana felt her face warm as the buxom young woman's body moved against her own, noting that Bockser was fiddling with a different handheld machine, pointing it in her direction. "There you are," Gatta said, triumphant. "That oughta' make your job a lot easier."

"How does it work?" Cana asked.

"This turns it on," Gatta said, pressing a button on the side of the watch. She pointed at another button. "This activates the radar. Double-click it to expand the range, and – if you keep clicking – it'll come back around to the closest field." She switched to the other side of the device. "Now this activates the -"

"Gatta, can you come over here?" Bockser asked, and there was something odd in his voice.

His sister shot him a look. "I'm in the middle of something," she said. The young man just gestured at her urgently. "Fine, fine... I'll be right back." She crossed the lab to her brother, who pointed down at the display, then looked up at Gatta and raised an eyebrow. The young woman frowned and tapped at the device, then glanced at Cana.

The red-eyed girl shifted uncomfortably. "What is it?" she asked.

Gatta bit her lip. "You're... not from around here, are you?" she asked.

The young woman's tone made it clear that she already knew the answer. "I lived here for two years without anyone figuring it out," Cana growled. "Now everyone can tell?"

"Well..." Gatta said, pushing up her thick glasses. "The medical sensor there is a pretty specialized piece of equipment. It can detect the genetic differences between normal humans and yourself, but also..." she glanced at Bockser. "Our family has a bit of a history with your people." Cana stared, waiting for an explanation. "We're your... cousins, in a way," the lavender-haired woman said.

"Wait... seriously?" Cana asked. She had not expected to hear that.

Bockser leaned forward eagerly, grinning at her. "We're part Saiyan, too," he said. "Descendants of Bulma Briefs and Vegeta."

A bark of laughter escaped from Cana before she could stop it. "You're related to Prince Vegeta?" she asked, disbelief etched in her face.

"Down a few generations, but yeah," Gatta said. "What are we at now, Bock? One part in sixty-four? One part in a hundred twenty-eight?" She flashed an apologetic smile at Cana. "Statistically human," she said.

"That's..." Cana trailed off. There had been other Saiyans here in West City and she had never guessed. What else had she missed hiding in her dorm room? She shook her head. "That's surprising," she finished. "Is that how you know the old man?"

Gatta nodded. "He's an old friend of the family, you might say. That's why we agreed to do this favor for him." She frowned. "The Dragon Balls aren't anything to mess around with, but we trust his judgment. If he wants you to gather them, have at it."

"Right," Cana said. She smiled. "Well I appreciate your help. Both of you," she added after a moment. "I was wondering how I was going to be able to find these things, but you've made it a lot easier." The siblings glanced at each other again, and Bockser smiled mischievously. The Saiyan girl looked down at the watch and pressed the button that Gatta had indicated.

A global map appeared on the face of the watch, tracing the familiar outlines of the continents. Several white dots were scattered across that map. Cana pressed the button again, bringing the device's range back to the closest resolution. She blinked. There was a dot right near where she was standing. "Is this..?"

Gatta sighed. "Yeah, we have one of the Dragon Balls here," she said.

"Can I have it?" Cana asked, uncertain.

"If Bock hadn't been messing around with the medical sensor," Gatta replied, "I'm sure he'd be happy to give it to you." She sat down on the edge of one of the desks, looking with disapproval at her younger brother. "But now that he knows you're a full-blooded Saiyan..."

Bockser grinned at her, his blue eyes bright. "You're going to have to fight me for it," he said.


	7. Chapter 7

"Is this really necessary?" Gatta asked, arms folded, leaning against the wall of the sparring arena that sat hidden in one corner of the big atrium that Cana had walked through earlier. The arena was actually in a small structure _inside_ the building, and laid out in a very traditional fashion, with polished wooden floors and pillars, another contrast to the high-tech wizardry that Capsule Corp was known for. Knowing what she knew now, the presence of the arena didn't surprise Cana.

Part of the Saiyan girl was asking the same question, however. By his own admission, Bockser would have willingly given her the Dragon Ball if she had been human, but his own Saiyan blood – diluted as it may have been – couldn't pass up the chance to challenge her. Cana had never assumed that she would be able to get through her journey without having to fight at some point, but she hadn't expected it so soon, and for so little reason. She was even still wearing her school uniform – skirt and button-up – an outfit that was not suitable at all for fighting.

Bockser stood at one end of the floor, dressed now in a t-shirt and loose pants, stretching and smiling like a schoolboy. "It's not a real battle, sis," the young man said. "I just want to see how a full-blooded Saiyan fights." He looked at Cana, blue eyes bright. "Admit it," he said. "You're looking forward to it, too."

"Don't flatter yourself," Cana said with false bravado, but Bockser just laughed with natural good cheer. Her stomach tightened with nervousness and she set herself in a fighting stance, legs bent and slightly apart, hands raised. She could feel the stiffness in her shoulders and thighs, the posture unfamiliar to her after so long. But her pupils had dilated and her breathing was slow and heavy. Her Saiyan blood pumped hot in her veins. She _was_ looking forward to this.

Across from Cana, the younger heir to the Capsule Corporation lowered himself into a stance that was unknown to her; one foot forward, hands raised shoulder-high with fingers hooked into claws. He smirked. "Ready when you are," he said.

Gatta sighed, but Cana didn't turn her to head to look at her, red eyes fixed on her opponent. "Just try not to wreck the place this time," the older sibling said, resignation evident in her voice. She waited for three heartbeats. "Go!"

The Saiyan girl had expected Bockser to hang back and wait her out, preparing to counter-attack instead of moving in close himself, but he subverted her expectations, charging forward immediately. His left hand jabbed forward, and Cana leaned aside, the blow passing by her right ear. She raised an arm to parry the young man's other hand, then lashed upward with her knee. Bockser leapt back before it could connect.

Again, she thought he would circle and wait, more cautious this time, and – again – she was wrong. He jumped forward, foot drawn back for a flying roundhouse. A more experienced fighter could have caught the young man by the leg and thrown him, but Cana was out of practice. She side-stepped the kick and aimed a blow at Bockser's head as he landed. He ducked under her punch and kicked backwards in a deceptively awkward movement that staggered the Saiyan girl and pushed her back a few steps.

 _Stronger than I thought. And vicious, too._ The spiky-haired girl smiled to herself. _I guess he really is part Saiyan._

Hesitant at first, Cana changed her stance, lowering her center of gravity and widening her reach. Subconsciously, she had underestimated the young man, assuming he would not be a match for her, but she had forgotten how much she had forgotten, how out of practice she was, and Bockser clearly had some skill. Although Master Tien had also defeated her, Cana had believed that was a fluke. This experience was teaching her otherwise.

So far, Bockser had been pressing the advantage, forcing her to fight his fight instead of the reverse, making her play defense. This time, she darted forward, feinting with her right fist before striking with her left. The young man still managed to block the attack, but Cana was gratified to see his blue eyes widen with the impact. She dropped to sweep his legs but he backed out of reach, shaking his arms as if they tingled.

"Phew," Bockser gasped, rubbing one forearm, smiling as if he didn't have a care in the world. "You're strong."

"And you're tougher than I thought," the Saiyan girl said, nodding her head in a brief acknowledgment. The young man's smile broadened, and he took his stance again.

Cana went on the attack once more, charging forward at the same instant Bockser did. She drew back her fist, but the human surprised her again, dropping down onto his knees and sliding past her. The Saiyan jumped clear in case he tried to trip her, turning and landing with unconscious grace where he had been standing a moment earlier.

The beauty of the landing was marred as Bockser's foot struck her face, whipping her head to the right. "Here's an oldie but a goody," he said. "Wolf Fang Fist!" His hands, still curled like claws, lashed at her again and again in a series of rapid strikes too fast for her to block or parry. He drew back both hands and hit her with a double-palm strike that sent Cana flying, crashing through a pillar and skidding to a halt on the polished wooden floor.

She heard Gatta scream, but wasn't sure if it was concern for her or annoyance at Bockser damaging the sparring arena. Cana climbed to her feet, pained and winded, glaring at the young man who stood halfway across the room. He put a hand on the back of his neck, simpering, looking ashamed. "Sorry, guess I showed off a bit there," he said.

Cana didn't reply. With a flicker of motion, she crossed the gap, right hand rocketing up in an uppercut jab that took Bockser in the stomach. She heard the expulsion of breath, saw the shock on his face before he flew three feet into the air and twice that back. It took him a few moments to regain his feet and his breath, coughing and wheezing and rubbing his stomach. He looked at the Saiyan girl as if she had betrayed him.

"Oops," Cana said, expressionless.

A slow smile spread across the young man's features, a very different smile than the ones she had seen him wear so far. It was languorous and predatory. "That's more like it," he said. He took his stance again and beckoned her forward. "Come on."

The Saiyan complied. She attacked in a rush of punches and kicks, but neither of them were fooling around anymore, and Bockser blocked or dodged without taking serious damage. He counter-attacked, but found her defenses as strong as his own were. Cana managed to push the young man back with a palm strike to the chest, and she lifted her leg for a roundhouse kick to the face.

He caught her foot, and they stood there for a moment, Cana balanced effortlessly on one leg, Bockser's arm straining to hold back the limb. His blue eyes flicked down and a faint grin crossed his face. "Spats?" he asked. "That's kind of disappointing."

Cana's red eyes narrowed, her face warming. For a moment she could see the panic in the young man's face as he realized he had made a terrible mistake, but it was far too late. The Saiyan lifted her other foot clear of the ground and swung it viciously at the other side of Bockser's face. His other arm rose to block it, but the strike crashed through his guard and hit him behind his right ear. He spun away, dropping Cana's other foot and sending her plummeting to the wood floor, but his own motion continued until he smashed into another pillar, cracking it in half with the impact. Gatta screeched again.

Bockser lay flat on the ground, groaning with pain, dazed eyes staring up at the ceiling. Cana approached, fury in her eyes. She stopped a distance away, not wanting to allow the young man another chance to look up her skirt. "Are we done yet?" she asked.

"Okay, okay," Bockser said, lifting his hands to ward her off. "You got me."

Gatta stepped into view on the other side of the prone figure, extending a hand to give Cana back the glasses the Saiyan girl had handed to her before the match. "You totally deserved that," the lavender-haired woman said, and Bockser nodded glumly. The buxom young woman looked up at Cana. "Sure you don't want to hit him a few more times?" she asked.

"Don't tempt me," Cana said, shooting a tight smile up at the other woman, warming to her.

"I'm sorry," the young man said, still on the floor. "I couldn't help myself. I mean... you are pretty cute, you know?"

Cana drew back a foot to give Bockser a light kick, but Gatta beat her to it, and with far more force than the Saiyan had been about to use. "Give it a rest," the older sibling said. "Now, if you're finished playing around, go and get the Dragon Ball like you should have done in the first place."

Bockser struggled to stand up, but gave up after a few seconds. "Sure, just... give me a minute," he said.

* * *

The orange orb felt heavy in Cana's hand. Deep within, two darker orange stars glittered at the center of the ball. It was smaller than she had expected, but dense, although that might have been psychological. If what Master Tien had said was true, than the object she held was a piece of the puzzle that was capable of granting almost any wish. She could only imagine the battles that had been fought, the blood that had been spilled, the lives lost in order to get hold of even one of the Dragon Balls.

"Humbling, isn't it?" Gatta asked. The older girl stood across from her, staring at the Dragon Ball that Cana now held in her hand. They were back in the laboratory, where Bockser had retrieved the orb from a securely locked, multi-layered safe. "It's been in our family for a long time, but I never liked having it out in the open. Too much power for me."

The Saiyan looked up at Gatta. The lavender-haired girl was the heir to the most powerful corporation on the planet, rich beyond count, with the kind of technology that made almost anything possible. And yet... she claimed the Dragon Ball was too much power for her. "Encouraging," Cana muttered.

"Sorry, honey," Gatta said with a quick smile. "It's just something I've spent a lot of time thinking about. My ancestor – Bulma – changed the history of the entire world, maybe the whole galaxy, when she started looking for these things."

"Every time the Dragon Balls are brought together, the course of history is altered," Bockser said from where he leaned against a wall, an ice pack held against his face where Cana's battle-ending kick had struck him. "It's not an easy burden to bear."

Cana hefted the ball in her hand, biting her lip. It did seem like quite a hot potato for the old man to have dropped in her lap like this. _Is this all just a different kind of test?_ She wondered. But no, that didn't seem right. "Master Tien implied he didn't actually want to use them for anything," she said. "That he didn't want to make a wish."

Gatta tossed back her hair and straightened her glasses. "The wish isn't always the important thing," she said. A giggle slipped from her lips. "If the stories are true, the first wish that was made on the Dragon Balls when Bulma gathered them was for a pair of panties."

"Seriously?" Cana said, narrowing her eyes.

"What can I say?" Gatta asked with a shrug. "It's just a story."

A hiss of pain came from Bockser, who had removed the ice pack to poke at his swollen wound with a finger. "Damn!" He replaced the ice pack. "Her point is that it was the very act of searching for the Dragon Balls that changed history, not the wish. Bulma found Goku on that journey. Goku found the Turtle Hermit, the Ox-King, and Yamcha on that first adventure, all important figures later on. Looking for the balls isn't something that should be taken lightly."

The Saiyan girl frowned, glancing between the two siblings. "Okay, what's with you two?" she asked. "Are you saying I shouldn't do it? That I should give it back?" What?"

Gatta leaned forward to rest her hand on Cana's. "It's not that," she said.

"We just want you to know what you're getting into," Bockser finished. "This isn't a harmless scavenger hunt. It's serious business."

"Point taken," Cana sighed. "And I appreciate you two helping me, first with the Dragon Radar and – now – with the ball and for warning me." She grabbed her travel bag from where she had dropped it earlier, opened it, and stuffed the Dragon Ball inside. "I'll definitely be careful."

"That's all we can ask," Gatta said, smiling. "Oh, and there's something else Tien asked us to give you." She opened a nearby drawer and dug inside it with a free hand. The smile disappeared and she dug more frantically. She cursed, standing up and opening a different drawer to begin rooting around in it. Without speaking, Bockser went to one of the other desks, pulled it open, and retrieved a small case, tossing it to Cana, who caught it easily. Gatta stared at her younger brother. "Are you kidding me?"

Cana bit back a smile. She opened the small case to find it was filled with small dyno-caps. The lid of the box contained a legend, explaining what was in each capsule. She scanned the contents, eyes widening. "This is..."

"Clothing, shelter, and food," Gatta said.

"Lots of food," Bockser added with a grin.

The expression was mirrored on his older sister's face. "Yeah, we know how much Saiyans can eat," she said. "This should save you some time... no scavenging for meals or searching for caves to sleep in or whatever."

"I... don't know how to repay you two," Cana said, closing the case and placing it in her bag with the Dragon Ball. "You've been more kind to me than I would ever have expected."

Bockser blushed. "Well like my sister said... we're kind of like cousins."

"Just take care of yourself out there," Gatta said with a warm smile. "And come see us when you get back. You're always welcome at Capsule Corp." Gatta gestured for the Saiyan to hold out her wrist, and the older girl moved forward, invading her personal space again to turn the device on, clicking the button until the display showed the world map once more. "One more thing," the lavender-haired young woman said. "Master Tien wanted us to tell you that you could start with any of the Dragon Balls..." she pointed to an island that was nearly obscured by a blinking white dot. "Except for this one. This one he wants you to save until last."

Cana made a face. "Did he mention why?"

"Of course not," Gatta said.

"'The journey is the destination,'" they said together and laughed. Bockser just looked back and forth between them, confused.

The Saiyan girl gently tugged her hand free of Gatta's and shrugged. "Well whatever," she said. "The other five are sure to give me enough trouble as it is." She threw a quick smile to the Briefs siblings. "Thanks again."

She had turned west again after leaving Capsule Corporation, walking in silence through the bustling center of the city and further, out towards the edge of town. The sun was sinking in a brilliant red-orange ball of flame ahead of her, looking for all the world like a gigantic Dragon Ball falling under the horizon. Cana had been feeling optimistic when she had left Gatta and Bockser, but melancholy had crept back in during her trek. She felt alone, despite the life of the city around her, and she couldn't help but think of Jesi, who would be home by now.

Part of her hoped that the younger girl had somehow gotten ahead of her, waiting to say one last farewell at the edge of town, but Cana knew that such an event would only have made it harder to leave. No, she was on her own. At least she had supplies and direction now. She lifter her wrist and touched the button to activate the Dragon Radar, tracing a line between the blinking dots scattered across the map.

The enormity of the task ahead of her slumped Cana's shoulders for a moment, but she took a deep breath and lifted herself out of the brief depression. Once she got beyond the city limits, she could move a lot faster, running and leaping at speeds that she didn't feel comfortable using in populated areas. She wouldn't need to fly from location to location, although that would have been much easier.

Even as her crimson eyes lifted, she saw a sign ahead of her: "Now leaving West City". Cana slowed to halt when she came abreast of the billboard. As a Saiyan peacekeeper, she had traveled across the galaxy, making interplanetary flights on a regular basis and without a second thought. Now, the idea of leaving the city where she had been living for the last two years almost gave her a panic attack. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her breath was quick and shallow.

Fear.

She'd been a slave to it for far too long. Cana squared her shoulders, tensed her muscles, and moved forward.

She refused to look back.


	8. Chapter 8

Within a few days, Cana had settled into a new routine. She would awaken in whatever small shelter she had chosen from the dyno-caps she had been given – nothing too ostentatious, usually just a tent or hut – do some stretches and exercises, eat a large breakfast, and make her way to the closest Dragon Ball. She could move very fast when she chose to – about a mile every two minutes over long distances and much faster over shorter ones – but she didn't run the entire time.

Depending on where she was, the Saiyan would jog at about fifteen miles an hour, or even slow to a walk if she found something particularly interesting. The second morning she set out the sun was rising through a bank of low clouds, forming a heartbreakingly beautiful sunrise. Cana walked backwards, watching the fiery ball lift into the heavens, though it cost her time. It was time well spent, she thought.

She took short breaks often for food, water, and rest, aware after her fights with Master Tien and Bockser that she was more out-of-shape than she had been willing to admit. In gradual increments, Cana pushed herself harder, moving faster for longer amounts of time, doing more push-ups, more sit-ups. It felt better than she had thought it would. In fact, aside from the solitude, her journey began as an enjoyable one.

Even the quiet could be nice at times. The old man had been right to get the Saiyan out and into the world where she had taken residence in her exile. All around her lay the natural wonder of a living planet... plants, animals, stone and air and water. It was lovely in a way that she had never expected, and – for the first time – she could see Chard's vision of life and appreciate it.

She wished Jesi were here to share in her discovery.

While the quiet did give her a chance to truly connect to the world around her, it also gave her too much time to think. In West City, between school and Jesi and her own fears of discovery, Cana had managed to push aside the memories, which would then only haunt her dreams. Now those thoughts returned to the forefront of her mind, and she was forced to face them every day, struggling to understand why certain things had happened and what – if anything – she could have done to change them.

But perhaps this was part of the healing process that she had too long delayed. She could no longer separate the Saiyan and Earthling parts of her identity. Cana would have to come to terms with both sides of herself, understand them, and integrate them. Knowing that didn't make it any easier, however. She longed for some company, if only to distract her.

On the eighth day of her journey, Cana was able to narrow the range of the Dragon Radar enough to notice something odd about her target: It didn't stay in one place as she had expected. The ball moved. Not much and not far, but there were fluctuations in its location that suggested it wasn't lying quiescent in a hole somewhere.

 _Competition?_ The Saiyan wondered. _Or coincidence. Some big animal could be playing with it for all I know._ In fact, she realized that she hadn't thought enough about the Dragon Balls and where they might be. It was possible that someone else _was_ hunting the orbs. Or even that some were being held in private collections, like the Briefs had been hiding theirs. Did the old man intend for her to steal from others in order to obtain the balls? She doubted it, but there was no way for Master Tien to be aware of what circumstances she might encounter in her hunt.

Only by finding the Dragon Ball could she know what actions she would have to take to retrieve it.

The next day she moved faster than usual, rushing to find the source of the reading the Dragon Radar was giving her. She found that both of her guesses were partially correct: The ball was in private hands and she did have competition. The radar had led her to a forested valley, trees thick and dense around her, the sunlight filtered green in all directions, like being at the bottom of a verdant, emerald ocean. She had slowed to a walk upon entering the woods, soaking in the feel of the landscape, glad she had chosen more suitable clothes for this part of the journey. Loose tan pants protected her legs, and a stylish but comfortable shirt covered her torso. Cana had a feeling that Gatta had been responsible for the clothes in the dyno-caps.

Weaving between thick tree trunks that reduced her visibility to almost nothing, she could have been wandering for hours if she hadn't heard the voices.

"Give it back!" cried one voice. A young girl by the sound of it. "I found it and it's mine!"

Another voice answered. "Be quiet, you little brat. I don't care if the king gave it to you, we're taking it."

"Can't believe we finally found one," a third voice said. "The boss is gonna' be pleased as punch when we bring it back."

"I said no!" the first voice yelled, strident now. There was a whistle, like the sound of a tea kettle at full boil.

"Watch out," the second voice said. "She ain't normal."

Cana had crept close enough to hear guns being cocked and flattened herself behind a tree. "What should we do with her?" the third voice asked.

"Shooting someone like her won't do any good," Voice Two replied. "We have the ball, let's just go."

The Saiyan peeked out from behind the tree to see three figures in a small clearing. Two were adults. A taller man and a shorter man, dressed in dark uniforms. The third was a little girl with pink hair. Cana could only partially see the girl from where she stood, but it was obvious that she was distressed. The two men didn't seem affected by the girl's tone or gestures.

"You can't have it!" the girl shouted.

The taller man raised a rifle, pointing it down at the small figure who resisted him. "Aw, shut up already. We're taking the ball and there ain't anything you can do about it, so stop your whining." This was Voice Three.

"Let's just go," the shorter man said – Voice Two.

The whistling came again, punctuated by the girl's voice. "I won't let you!"

"Hey! She's doing something!" The tall man tightened his grip on his rifle, taking aim.

Cana was out from behind the tree before she knew what she was doing. Pictures flashed in her head... an angry face, raised hands, a surge of pain. The scar on her cheek throbbed. She dove in front of the girl just as the gun went off, taking the projectile in her rib. It hurt, and the Saiyan knew she would have a bruise, but no more. Even an untrained Saiyan couldn't be hurt by a bullet. Their naturally tough skin and bones resisted such impacts even without the extra endurance precise _ki_ control allowed. With proper allocation of energy, a trained fighter could strengthen their body even further. This was why the most deadly mistake a warrior could make was to let their guard down. Without proper focus, even firearms could hit a soft spot and kill someone with a much greater power level.

"Shit!" the short man hissed. "I told you not to bother. Run!" Cana heard two sets of footsteps rushing into the woods, crashing through foliage and underbrush. She climbed back to her feet, ignoring the pain and the little girl both, who had taken her arm and was saying something.

"They won't get away," the Saiyan said – as much to herself as to the child – and leapt up into the branches of the tall trees in the direction the men had gone. Her rib ached and she grit her teeth, but was still easily able to keep her balance on the thin limbs of trees, jumping from branch to branch, following the two men. She was pleased to note that she had adjusted to the loss of her tail and had recovered her equilibrium.

By chance, the thieves were in a situation where Cana's natural advantages would be blunted. In a forest as thick as this, she couldn't travel as fast as she would under other circumstances. Even if she were to ignore Master Tien's words and take to the air, she wouldn't be able to see her quarry through the interlaced branches thick with leaves. If worse came to worse, she could use the Dragon Radar, but it would be tedious to have to look back and forth from the watch to the woods.

Luck was with her, though. The thieves were stupid men. They hadn't gone to ground, so after a minute of running and jumping through the treetops, Cana could hear the men still charging through the forest, making enough noise that it wouldn't be at all difficult for her to zero in on their location. She shook her head. They hadn't even changed direction after leaving the clearing, just gone in a straight line.

Cana increased her speed, passing the men with ease, and quiet enough that they had no idea that she was there. She dropped down through the canopy and landed in a storm of leaves in front of the taller man. He gave a shocked yelp at her appearance, raising the rifle he still held. With the back of one hand, the Saiyan girl batted the weapon aside and out of the man's hands. It spun away into the emerald depths of the forest.

The man raised his hands, eyes wide. "I _shot_ you," he said. "How can you be here?"

The Saiyan didn't answer. She stepped forward and grabbed the man by his collar, lifting him up off the ground with ease. "Do you have the Dragon Ball?" she asked.

"N-no, my partner got the ball. I got nothing," the man stammered.

A smirk formed unbidden on Cana's face. "No balls. Sounds about right for someone who tried to shoot a little girl." The man's face went red but he said nothing. The Saiyan's eyes narrowed behind her glasses, and she threw the man into the trees, in the opposite direction than the gun had gone. In an instant, she was back in the canopy, chasing after the other man.

Fear must have been driving him forward like the legions of King Piccolo were chasing him, because the shorter man had reached the edge of the woods by the time Cana caught up. He was just climbing into a vehicle as she broke out of the forest and leapt to the ground, clothes stained green by her rapid passage through the foliage. The engine hummed and the boxy vehicle rose into the air. A flying car.

It swung its blunt prow around, preparing to soar away. Cana almost smiled, raising one hand. _Ki_ gathered in her palm, and a beam of golden light lanced from her hand to the vehicles engine. There was a small explosion in the rear of the car, and it dipped back to the ground, sputtering and coughing.

Cana took her time now, no longer in a rush. She circled around the front of vehicle and opened the driver's side door to find the little man cowering under the dashboard. She hauled him bodily out of the car and deposited him on the ground. She said nothing, just held out her hand. Simpering and sweating, the man pulled out the Dragon Ball and deposited it in the Saiyan's waiting palm. She stared at the orb, noting the five stars at its center, loosening her grip on the man's uniform.

"Run," she said without looking up, pointing away from the forest. The man hesitated, and Cana glared at him. "I said 'run'." This time the man listened to her, scrambling away with a gasp of fear. She didn't even bother to watch him go.

 _Two down_ , she thought with a tight smile. Whistling, she took her travel bag from her shoulders and opened it. As she unzipped the bag, she froze, remembering the girl. _The ball belongs to her,_ she thought. _If I take it, I'm no better than those thieves... no better than Letta and Lenti._ Cana sighed, but there was no real doubt in her mind as to what she had to do.

It was the work of only a few minutes to get back to the clearing. The little girl was still there, sitting with her back against a tree, face buried against her raised knees, shoulders jerking in quiet sobs. Cana crossed to where the child was sitting and knelt in front of her. "Hey, kid," she said. "Look what I have." She smiled as the girl raised her head.

Cana had been determined to put on a cheerful face for the crying child and so did not let herself react when the kid looked up. The girl wasn't human. What Cana had assumed to be pink hair drawn up into pigtails was actually a soft, spongy material. The same material made up the girl's entire body. Lines of small holes dotted her arms and head. Most shocking of all were the girl's eyes, which consisted entirely of black sclera, with no irises or pupils. Still, she was generally human looking in shape and proportion and facial features, and appeared to be in her early teens.

The humanity was enhanced even more when the girl's strange eyes fixed on the Dragon Ball and widened, her mouth opening in a gasp and a grin. Cana's own smile broadened into a more genuine one seeing the kid's expression. "You got it?" the girl asked in her high, child's voice. "Already? How?"

Cana stood up with a smirk. "Guys like that? No problem for me."

The girl rose along with her – standing only to about the height of Cana's stomach – staring up with a look of awe. "Wow..."

Not without a wince and a look of longing, the Saiyan held out the Dragon Ball and put it into the pink girl's hand. But she had made her decision. She would not follow in Letta and Lenti's path. She would not steal from others, and if that meant that her mission failed, then so be it. "That's a very special treasure you have there," she said.

"I know," the kid said with a secretive grin. She was dressed in white pants and a short dark vest that looked remarkably clean for a girl wandering around the forest alone. A strip of cloth covered her breasts under the open vest, which left her arms and midriff exposed, but the girl didn't seem cold or uncomfortable. "It's my favorite shiny stone. Even though I can't eat it."

Cana chuckled at the child's words and behavior. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I live here," the girl chirped with a total lack of concern.

"Alone?" Cana frowned.

"Yep!" She glanced at the Dragon Ball and back up at Cana. "You were super cool jumping into the trees like that," she said. "Did you really beat up those guys to get this back?"

"I didn't exactly beat them up..." the Saiyan hedged.

Clutching the orange orb in her hands, the pink girl stared at her adoringly. "What's your name? Why are you here? Where are you going?"

The Saiyan's hands raised defensively at the sudden barrage of questions. "Whoa, whoa... my name is Cana, I'm on... kind of an adventure."

"That sounds cool!" the girl said. "My name is Uru. I want to go on an adventure, too. Can I come with you?"

"I don't think that's a good idea," Cana said, laughing despite herself, charmed by Uru's enthusiasm.

The pink girl frowned. "Aw... please?"

Cana knelt again to lower herself to Uru's height. "I move pretty fast," she explained. "I don't think you'd be able to keep up."

"I bet I could," Uru insisted.

"I'm sure you'd try, kiddo," Cana said with a smile. "But it might be dangerous, too. I wouldn't want you getting hurt."

Uru's shoulders slumped. "Well... can I at least walk with you for a while?" she asked.

Cana should have refused, but the little girl seemed so alone and the hero worship did feel good. Besides, hadn't she just been wishing for company on the road to distract her? "Yeah, we can do that," the Saiyan said.

"Awesome!" Uru enthused.

They reached the edge of the forest in less than half an hour, coming out near the still-smoldering wreck of the thieves' vehicle. The little girl chatted happily with Cana the entire time, telling her about life in the forest and all the different foods that she ate, most of which seemed to be insects. Every once in a while, Uru would ask Cana questions about her life, listening with rapt attention to her answers, staring at the taller girl with adoration.

Cana found herself smiling and laughing more than she had for the last week. She hadn't realized how much she had missed interacting with someone. Uru was amusing and cheerful, never uttering a word of complaint even when she was talking matter-of-factly about the travails of living alone in the woods and eating bugs. The Saiyan liked the girl right away.

It had been her intention to leave Uru at the edge of the forest, but instead she climbed with her up out of the valley, unwilling to part company just yet, even more-so knowing how alone the girl would be without her.

At last, though, she had to say farewell. "Okay," Cana said with a sigh. "I have to get a move on, kiddo." She leaned down and patted Uru's spongy head. "You take care of yourself and that treasure of yours."

To her surprise, the pink girl didn't seem depressed at the prospect of them parting ways. "Okay, Cana. Thank you and see you soon!" She waved her little hand and watched as the Saiyan sprinted away.

Cana didn't go much further that day. Dark clouds had rolled in and she could already hear the rumble of thunder and see flickers of lightning. She found a flat spot on a small rise dotted with bushes and pulled out one of the capsules that she had not opened yet. She hadn't wanted to use anything too fancy or to spoil herself with something too comfortable when she was supposed to be roughing it, but the Saiyan didn't want to be stuck in the rain tonight.

She pulled out the capsule, punched the button on the top with one thumb and tossed it onto the hill. With a burst of smoke and a loud noise, a small dome appeared, lit from within with warm amber light. Cana shook her ahead, still unable to believe an entire house could fit in the tiny dyno-cap. She got inside just as the rain started to fall.

The interior of the small house was pleasant and inviting, and she was sure the drumming of the rain on the domed roof would put her to sleep tonight. The Saiyan ate some food and washed up, smiling to herself, remembering Uru's goofy excitement on hearing about her journey. It was just too bad that Cana had already failed to gather the Dragon Balls. Unless she was willing to steal the globe from the little girl, then she could only get six of the seven at best.

" _'The journey is the destination,'"_ she thought to herself with a chuckle. She would have to assume that Master Tien would not consider her a failure for not taking the ball when she had a chance.

She wasn't tired yet, so she stood at the window and stared out into the gathering dark, watching the rain fall. The drops were fat and heavy, seeming almost to bounce as they hit the ground. Forks of lightning split the sky and thunder crashed, muffled only slightly by the walls of the capsule house. Her red eyes glazed and lost focus, and – for an instant – she was back on Grayne, watching bursts of glowing energy devastate cities and countryside alike as Letta and Lenti's Oozaru transformations destroyed a planet.

"No!" Cana shouted, shaking her head and bringing herself back to the present. She gasped, seeing something else out the window.

In the flickering glow of the lightning, movement could be seen that wasn't the wind or the rain, and Cana froze. She stared out into the storm for several long minutes, making sure she wasn't mistaken. At last, the Saiyan sighed and shook her head. Despite her exasperation, there was a small, faint smile on her face. She went to the door and opened it, leaning out into the torrent of rain.

"Uru!" she called. "Get in here!"

Moments later, the little pink girl emerged from one of the bushes and ran into the house, waving her arms over her head as if to ward off the rain. Cana closed the door behind her and turned to face the child, putting her hands on her hips and staring down at her. Uru looked wet and miserable, hands twisting together nervously. Neither of them spoke for several long moments.

"Are you mad at me?" Uru asked at last, her voice small.

Cana tried to keep her face stern, tried to glare at the little girl and let her know that she didn't approve of being followed, but she couldn't manage it. She laughed. "Let's get you dried off, kid. I can be mad at you later."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Got my first legit review on this story, so I wanted to thank captain carrot 44 for his kind words. I do realize that a lot of people are leery about stories featuring original characters (and even more so if it's _primarily_ original characters), so I can't be too offended that I'm only averaging about thirty views per chapter. That said, I'm all the more appreciative when you and others _do_ actually read the story. I've been having a lot of fun writing it, but getting feedback is a nice bonus. As for the captain's other comments, I'm not going to say that canon characters won't show up at all in some form or another, but answering questions about what happened to them at this point in the history is kind of beyond the scope of this story. I'm going more for the "soft reboot" methodology, which means that my cast has to stand on their own feet without leaning too heavily on the original cast.

At any rate, thanks to the people that are reading. I appreciate it. On to the show.

* * *

 _ **AND THEN...**_

Cana rammed her gloved fist into the pink creature's face, glad that the alien hadn't been smart enough to lower its head so that her hand would impact one of the numerous spikes that covered its scalp. Instead the alien recoiled, hands going up to its face, bellowing in anger and pain, leaving itself open. The Saiyan girl took advantage of the vulnerability, darting forward to jam her knee into the alien's stomach. The colorful Planet Trade Organization soldier folded around the blow, and Cana drove her elbow into its back, sending it plummeting down to the ground of Planet Essert twenty feet below.

A blast of amber lanced down after it, fired from Cana's palm, catching the alien just as it hit the ground. A brief explosion eclipsed her vision of the creature, but the Saiyan was already looking for her next target. She didn't even know if she had killed the soldier, and she didn't care. She felt nothing.

Across the melee, Cana caught a glimpse of Letta, flashing back and forth at speeds so high that the younger girl could only catch pieces of her battle, brief images whenever she struck. The older girl specialized in her footwork, focused more on kicks than punches, graceful and deadly. Once upon a time, Cana had watched her with awe, with hero worship, but now... just an aching emptiness. Even hatred had burned itself out.

Perhaps Letta had succeeded in breaking her. Cana wished she could care.

Crimson fire flashed in front of the young Saiyan girl, and three PTO soldiers fell smoking from the sky. Lenti laughed – loud enough to be heard in the chaos of the battle – and lowered his hand. His power was truly frightening, and the savage young man enjoyed employing it. Enjoyed it too much, and more every time. As the months had passed and Lenti had indulged himself in his... extracurricular activities, that glee became more obvious, so much so that Chard had been forced to try and rein the warrior in. It didn't make any difference.

As for Chard himself, he was almost sedate in comparison. Cana's commander seemed to have chosen a single spot in the sky to defend, barely moving within its narrow confines, but taking down soldier after soldier with enviable efficiency. One punch, one kick, one chop, three enemies down. Nothing could touch him.

Strong arms enclosed Cana in a full nelson hold. She hissed a curse, angry at herself for getting distracted. Quicker than thought, the Saiyan rammed her head backwards, feeling a burst of pain but gratified to hear a howl of angry agony from whoever had grabbed her. The grip loosened, and she yanked herself free. Cana set herself to continue the battle, but a golden flash incinerated the soldier before she could attack.

There was a flicker of motion, and Letta appeared in front of her, much too close for Cana's comfort. The older girl gave her a predatory smile and floated even closer. "Be careful, little one," Letta said in a low voice. "Wouldn't want you getting hurt now." She sped away in a flare of light and energy.

 _No_ , Cana thought. _Can't let the Planet Trade Organization hurt me... that's your job, isn't it?_

That thought stoked the dying embers of emotion in her heart. She grit her teeth, watching the other girl fly away before turning back to the battle that still raged around her. _Stronger,_ she thought. _I've got to get stronger!_

* * *

The PTO had been killed or captured and all was quiet on Essert again. The soldiers had landed their large, saucer-shaped vessel on a nearly empty island, and Lenti, Letta, and Sohko had been assigned to check the ship, make sure it was empty, and clear out any booby traps left behind by the former occupants. Cana had been left to watch over the pods while Chard had gone to inform the local government of their victory.

The Saiyan girl, fifteen cycles old now, sat hunched over with her back to her space pod. Her breath rose and fell in time with the throbbing ache that permeated her body. Glazed, tired red eyes stared at nothing, barely noticing the world around her, looking instead at the crater her pod had formed when it landed. _Death instead of life_ , the words came to her, but they held no meaning. Death had become her life. She had killed for no honorable or meaningful purpose, and allowed others to be killed without raising a hand to stop them. Deep down, Cana knew that she was on the edge of personal destruction, either physical or mental... she would be killed either by an enemy or her own supposed allies, or she would become like Letta and Lenti.

" _It makes me want to break you and show you that you're just like me..._ " Letta's voice sounded in her memory. " _You took a step in that direction. How does it feel?"_

Outrage tried to claw its way up Cana's throat from her chest, but it only made it partway before sinking back down. Her head leaned back against the cold white metal of the pod. _I could run_ , she thought disinterestedly. _Jump into my ship and get out of here._ For a brief moment, the thought swirled in her head, stirring the last vestiges of hope in her heart. Then that, too, was gone. _They'd find me. And the Peacekeepers would lock me up for going AWOL. No... Lenti would kill me before that happened to keep me from saying anything_.

She was so tired of trying to find a way out of the trap she was in. The only escape was death, either of Cana or her tormentors, and it was far more likely to be her own.

The blue-visored scouter she wore beeped loudly, startling her, and she turned her head to find the source of the reading. One power level was approaching rapidly: Chard. Cana wished she could take some comfort in the older man's arrival, but her heart pounded. If the Saiyan twins knew she was alone with their commander, would they assume that she'd been telling him of their activities? Would they kill her based on nothing but possibility? Lenti would. Letta, too, probably.

Mouth dry, Cana hit the transmit button on her scouter, allowing the twins to listen in so they'd know she wasn't betraying them. Her hand shook and she hated herself for her cowardice. If only she was stronger...

As soon as Chard landed at the lip of the crater, the sick feeling in Cana's stomach blossomed into a cold fear. The older man's dark eyes were narrowed, the lines in his face seemed deeper, the corners of his mouth curved downward in a grimace. He looked straight at her, and his gaze was not kind.

Cana jumped to her feet, standing to trembling attention. "S-sir?" she asked.

The older man approached, sliding easily down the shallow slope of the pit. He came closer, and – moved by some instinct – Cana stepped back, giving way before him. "You, of all people," Chard said, and his voice was pained.

Sweat beaded on the Saiyan girl's brow. "What do you mean, sir?"

"Don't you _dare_ play innocent, Cana," Chard said. "Did you think I wouldn't put two and two together? Did you think you and the others were so clever that I wouldn't find out what was going on?"

Cana's jaw dropped. _He knows,_ she thought. She didn't know whether to be relieved or terrified. She tried to speak, to explain herself, forgetting about the scouter that was now transmitting their words to the twins.

Chard cut her off before she could begin. "Do you know _why_ the PTO was here, Cana?" he asked. "They were hired by the survivors of a planet named 'Grayne'." The girl couldn't stop her eyes from widening at that name. "You know of it," Chard said quietly. "Of course you do. You see, Grayne had been all but destroyed in an attack a few months back, and the survivors are looking for a new world to settle on. They learned an important lesson from their conquerors... they learned not to have compassion for the native population. So these people hired the Planet Trade Organization to take over Essert and hand it over to them."

The words stabbed into Cana like blunt knives. She trembled, seeing visions of the decimated surface of Grayne behind her eyelids every time she blinked. Chard leaned closer. "Grayne is in our sector," he continued. "I didn't want to believe it, but I asked for reports, for eyewitness accounts, and I just got the data... giant apes, Cana. Oozaru. _Our people_." He paused, looking her straight in the eyes. "You. And Lenti. And Letta."

"I... I didn't -" Cana began, hoarse with emotion.

"I checked the logs, Cana!" Chard shouted. "The pods you used were tampered with, but not your scouters! You were there!" He poked a finger into her white chest-plate. "All three of you were!" He straightened again, and behind the anger, the girl could see the disappointment in his eyes. "I tried to tell you, but you obviously weren't listening to me. You chose death. You chose savagery, and butchery, and nihilism."

Cana wanted to deny it, but she saw the Grayne lizard-man before her, saw the smoking hole in his chest that she had blasted through him. All the chances that she had had to stop the twins or to remove herself from their influence marched by in her mind. She was guilty, too.

"What are you going to do with me?" She asked in a faint whisper.

"That's not for me to decide," Chard said, and she winced at the harshness of his tone, remembering when he used to talk to her with warmth and kindness. "Peacekeeper command will choose your fate." He turned his back on her and spoke over his shoulder. "Same with the others, if they come quietly. If any of you decide to fight, then..."

A narrow red beam flashed down from the sky, punching through Chard's dark armor and drilling through the flesh and bone beneath. With his head still turned in her direction, Cana could see the shock in the older man's face, his mouth open, his eyes wide. A grunt of pain was the only vocalization he gave to the agony he must have been feeling. He fell to his knees. It all happened so fast that Cana didn't have time to react.

"'Then' what, Chard?" Lenti asked as he dropped to the ground nearby. Letta landed next to him a half-moment later, arms crossed. "Would you have killed us, old-timer?" The bearded Saiyan laughed. He leaned down close to the kneeling Chard. "Not if we kill you first," he hissed.

Chard rose slowly, in spite of his mortal wound, he got back to his feet, and Lenti took a step back. The older man turned to face the twin warriors, and Cana could see now that blood trickled from his mouth and pulsed from his chest, staining his armor even darker. The Saiyan commander took one step forward, then another, and now both the twins were giving way, fear on their faces.

The older man's knee twisted on the third step and he fell to the dirt of the crater. He did not move again.

The three surviving Saiyans all stood in a shock for a moment, but then Lenti laughed again, drowning his fear in transparently false bravado. He walked next to Chard's corpse and kicked it hard. "Not so tough now, are you?" he asked. His foot lashed out again.

"That's enough, Lenti," Letta said, disgusted at her brother's display. "We've got to figure out what to do next."

The big Saiyan shrugged. "What's to figure out? The PTO got him." His tone changed to one of mock-sadness. "We tried to save him, but we just weren't fast enough." He turned his yellow eyes to Cana. "Of course, we all need to make sure our stories match. Would be a lot easier with just two of us."

Cana didn't even look at him, her eyes still fixed on Chard's body. Chard, who had died believing that she in league with the monsters in front of her, the traitors that had killed him. And she had been a part of that, just as she had been on Grayne. Her fearful activation of the the transmitter in her scouter had allowed the twins to know when to strike.

"We wouldn't have known Chard was on to us if it wasn't for Cana's warning," Letta was saying. "She's one of us now, we don't need to kill her."

"Oh, please," Lenti said. "I know she's your favorite little pet, Letta, but it's time to put her down."

Letta glared at her brother, sparing a glance at Cana. "You're right, she _is_ mine, and I forbid you to hurt her." The siblings stared at each other, the tension between them palpable. The ground and the air itself seemed to tremble and grow hotter. Both of their single-lens scouters beeped at the same time.

And kept beeping.

They looked aside at the same moment, looking at the third figure standing in the crater. Cana's fists trembled at her side and her body vibrated like a plucked string. Small stones and debris lifted from the ground around her and broke into pieces, disintegrating. Her dark, spiked hair waved as if it was caught in a localized breeze.

"That's enough!" the young Saiyan girl screamed. Her scouter exploded, revealing that her eyes had gone completely white. A golden aura grew around her, and clouds gathered and swirled in the sky, darkening and thickening as if a storm had blown in.

Lenti recoiled, holding an arm in front of his face defensively. "What the hell? Where is this power coming from?!"

"Cana!" Letta shouted at the same time.

But she was beyond listening. The young Saiyan let out a wordless cry of pain and rage and dashed forward, sending a wave of dirt and rocks behind her with her acceleration. Lenti raised his other arm, but she punched past it, slamming her fist into the side of the big man's head. Her hand opened and a blast of energy enhanced her blow, burning into the side of Lenti's face. He screamed and wheeled through the air, straight out of the crater.

Without conscious thought, Cana ducked Letta's kick, countering with one of her own that lifted the older girl into the air, and a follow up that sent her flying after her brother. The young Saiyan rose from the crater slowly, almost majestic, her aura still glowing gold around her. The twins got to their feet with visible pain, Lenti holding one side of his bleeding face. They glanced at each other, nodded, and extended their arms at the same moment.

A massive wave of crimson energy soared towards the glowing girl. Cana had just enough time to raise her own arms and _catch_ the wave. She held it there for a moment, feeling it heat her palms. Lenti and Letta screamed, putting more of their energy into the attack, and Cana inched backwards in mid-air. Then she let loose with a blast of her own, right into the twins'. Her golden _ki_ attack obliterated theirs and arrowed towards them. Amber eyes widened in shock for a split-second before the wave slammed into the two Saiyans. Lenti and Letta cried out and flew backwards, the energy attack burning them and melting the edges of their armor.

Cana lowered herself to the ground and walked forward in an unhurried, almost sensual glide, seeming to enjoy her new power. Her black hair billowed upwards from her head and her gold aura flared with each step. Letta was the first to move, so the younger girl strode to her first. One of the long-haired Saiyan's arms clutched around her own stomach, the other hanging limp at her side. Cana raised an arm, preparing to strike her adversary down once and for all.

"Congratulations, little one," Letta said in a pained groan, trying to straighten to her full height. "Now you truly are like us. Brutal. Ruthless. Merciless." She looked up into Cana's face. "So angry." A bitter smile curled her lips. "But I miss those pretty eyes."

" _Brutal. Ruthless. Merciless."_ The words echoes in Canna's mind, breaking through the white rage that had consumed her upon Chard's death. She remembered her commander's earlier words. _"You chose death. You chose savagery, and butchery, and nihilism."_

 _I don't want to be like them!_ Cana screamed in the silence of her mind.

The aura faded, her hair settling into its normal placement, the irises and pupils of her eyes visible once more. Those red eyes looked across the battlefield with confusion. "Did I...?"

Letta sensed her opening. She rose in an instant and lashed out with the hand that had curled around her stomach. Her fist glowed with _ki_ energy, infusing the blow with as much power as she could manage. It caught Cana in the right cheek, splitting the skin in a deep wound and sending her cartwheeling away with a cry of pain to land face down in the dirt.

"Oh, little one," she heard Letta sigh regretfully. "Why did you have to do this? Why couldn't you just be weak and obedient? I could have protected you. I would have kept you safe, but you just had to defy me one... last... time. You truly are an ungrateful girl."

Cana lifted her head from the ground, blood pouring down her face from the wound Letta had given her. She saw Lenti stagger up next to his sister, one side of his face a ruined mess. _I did that?_ Cana wondered.

"So no more arguments?" Lenti growled, his voice low and rough and bestial.

Letta closed her eyes and turned away. "I don't know what that was, but she's too dangerous to keep alive. Do what you have to do," she said.

A snarling smile split the big man's face. "Gladly," he said. He raised both arms, and Cana watched in weary resignation as a massive ball of red energy grew in his palms. She wished she could have stopped the twins. She wished she could have saved Chard. And Grayne. She wished she could have saved herself.

Although her last wish was to die with bravery, as the bloody orb grew larger and soared closer, Cana closed her eyes at the end. She screamed as her world turned to fire.

Just as the pain overwhelmed the young Saiyan, the fire was extinguished in an instant by utter blackness.

* * *

 **A/N:** Just in case there is any confusion, that was not a mistake in describing the Super Saiyan form. Cana didn't quite reach that level, but she did utilize the "False Super Saiyan" as seen in the movie "Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug".


	10. Chapter 10

_**NOW...**_

"Cana? Cana?! What's wrong?"

The Saiyan girl felt herself being shaken, the movement awakening phantom pains from her dreams and memories. She clawed herself back to consciousness, gulping in a huge breath of air. "No!" she screamed, bolting upright. Her hands raised, ready to attack or defend from whatever was threatening, and she grabbed at something fleshy, still in a blind panic.

"It's me, Cana!" the voice that had woken her shouted. So familiar, but her nightmare-addled brain couldn't make the connection. Where was she? Where were Lenti and Letta? Chard...

Her vision finally cleared enough to make out the other figure in the room: Uru. The fight went out of the Saiyan girl in an instant, and she released the pink child's arm. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she said in a rush. "Did I hurt you, kid?"

Uru stepped back and rubbed at her arm where Cana had grabbed it. "No, you didn't do anything to me," she said. "But you were talking in your sleep, tossing and turning. I came over to check on you, and... Are you okay?"

"I'm... I'm fine," Cana said bringing one hand up to her head to massage her temples, feeling the scar on her cheek burning. Wine-red eyes closed as she came back to the present. She was still in the capsule house. Uru had followed her the previous evening, catching up faster than Cana had given her credit for, but the little girl had gotten stuck in the storm that had been raging outside. The Saiyan had let her in and dried her off, allowing her to stay the night in the little dome of a house. She had even let the kid have the bed while Cana sacked out on the couch.

The pink girl was still looking at her uncertainly. "It sounded like you were hurt real bad," she said, her voice very small.

Cana swallowed past the lump in her throat. "I was," she admitted. "But I'm better now."

"Is it something I did?" Uru asked, taking a seat across from her, hands clasped between her knees, looking down.

"Of course not," the Saiyan answered with an attempt at a smile. "Now why would you think that?"

The bubblegum girl pursed her lips. "Sometimes people were scared of me," she said. "That's why I was living by myself. They'd look at me like I was going to hurt them. Maybe I was. I didn't want to, but they sent me away."

"Listen to me, little-" Cana froze in mid-thought, realizing in horror that she had about to call Uru "little one", the same pet name that Letta had used for over a year when referring to the Saiyan girl. She closed her eyes, pushing the memory away, reaching out one hand to squeeze the kid's shoulder. "Uru... you didn't do anything to me. And you don't seem like someone who would willingly harm anyone." She sighed. "I was just having a dream about something that happened to me a long time ago."

"Must have been really bad guys if they were able to hurt you," Uru said. "You should go and beat them up."

Cana laughed. "I wish it were that easy," she said.

At the sound of her laugh, Uru looked up with a grin on her face. Cana stared at the girl, seeing something different about her. The Saiyan's blood went cold. Uru had irises now, set in the sable sclera that had been the entirety of her eyes yesterday. They were the same shade of red as Cana's own eyes. The pink girl's grin faded upon seeing Cana's expression change.

"What'd I do?" she asked, sounding worried.

The Saiyan girl shook her head. "Nothing, kiddo. It's fine." She forced herself to smile again and glanced out the window at the lightening sky. "What do you say we get something to eat?" Uru's face brightened again and she nodded enthusiastically. Cana rose and went into the little kitchen, the girl following behind. Maybe she just hadn't seen the child's eyes properly the day before. There wasn't anything sinister about the change – if change it was – the discovery was just unsettling.

One of the food-bearing capsules had been produced, and Cana was about to use it when a thought occurred to her. She glanced at the fridge that stood in one corner of the kitchenette. _Is it possible?_ She opened the refrigerator, and – sure enough – it was fully stocked. Cana smiled and shook her head. _Incredible_. _All this in a tiny capsule_. It turned out to be a fortunate discovery, because Uru gave the Saiyan a run for her money in the eating department. Between the two of them, they cleaned out the fridge.

Uru was still stuffing her face with croissants and other pastries – she seemed to have quite the sweet tooth and Cana wondered how she had managed in the forest for so long scavenging for food – and the Saiyan girl was eating the last of the fruit when the Dragon Radar vibrated on her wrist. A trilling tone came from the device and Cana frowned. It had never done this before. Was there another Dragon Ball nearby?

"What is that?" Uru asked, half-rising from her seat.

Cana looked at the radar and read the words "Incoming Call". She raised an eyebrow and pressed one of the buttons on the left side of the watch that had lit up.

"... hasn't contacted us since she left," Gatta's voice came from the radar. On the small screen, an image of the bespectacled girl was visible, looking away, talking to someone else. Probably Bockser. "I just want to make sure she's all right."

"She's a full-blooded Saiyan," Bockser said from off-screen. "I'm sure she's fine."

Gatta rolled her eyes. "Well excuse me for being concerned. It's not as if I was ready to chase her down like -" the older girl finally turned back to face whatever camera was transmitting her voice and image. "Cana!" she said, a big smile splitting her face.

The spiky-haired girl smiled back, bringing up her other hand to wave with her fingertips. "Hey there, Gatta. Bock." The younger sibling crowded into the shot to wave back. "I didn't know this thing could make calls," Cana said.

Gatta's smile turned into a frown. "Really? I could have sworn I showed you that function." Cana's own grin transformed into a smirk. She was already familiar with how absent-minded the other girl could be. "And here I was," Gatta continued, "worried sick about you because you never called or sent a message. You didn't even know you could! Guess I can't be too mad at you for it, but still... how are you doing? Is everything okay? Have you found any more Dragon Balls?"

"Slow down and let her answer, sis," Bockser said, shaking his head.

Cana had taken a big bite as Gatta had begun speaking, knowing how the older girl would talk until she ran out of breath. She had enough time to chew and swallow before answering. "I'm fine, no major problems," she said. "I... kind of found one of the Dragon Balls, the five-star ball."

The Briefs siblings blinked, the same confused expression on their faces. "What do you mean 'kind of'?" Bockser asked.

Removing the Dragon Radar from her wrist, Cana turned it to face Uru. The pink girl stared in wonder at the moving image of the two humans for a moment before blushing and giving a shy wave. "This little girl owns the ball," Cana said, turning the watch back to her own face. "So I _found_ it, but I didn't take it."

"Is that a Majin?!" Gatta asked.

Cana frowned and glanced up at Uru, who seemed to have turned a deeper shade of pink. "Maybe," the Saiyan said. "What's a Majin?"

"Oh boy," Bockser said, patting the back of his head. "Well that's hard to explain." He crossed his arms and looked up at the ceiling. "They're not aliens or demons, but they're not human either. They're something... else."

Gatta leaned closer to the camera. "This isn't well-known, but it's been passed down in our family," she said. "There was only one Majin at first: A terrifyingly powerful creature called 'Buu'. He actually succeeded in killing almost all life on Earth before he was defeated. The Dragon Balls were used to bring everyone back and also erase their memories of what Majin Buu had done."

"Why?" Cana asked, noting that Uru had stopped eating and was staring down at the counter. "Why make everyone forget what he had done?"

"This is where it gets complicated," Bockser answered. "Majin Buu had split into two forms: Good and bad. When the bad one was defeated, the good Buu chose to remain on Earth with the friends he had made, but he couldn't very well have any kind of normal life if everyone was scared to to death of him."

"Right," Gatta continued, picking up the thread of the story. "So the evil Buu is gone, the good Buu is living on Earth, but he's the only one of his kind. Eventually he got ideas..." the older girl's face darkened in a faint blush. "I'll skip over the details and just say that he made a female Majin from his own body. The two of them started creating more children, and it just went on from there."

Cana looked across the counter and pointed at Uru with the banana she was now eating. "Does this sound right to you, kiddo?"

The Majin girl looked uncomfortable. "Yes, it's true," she said quietly. "I don't know who... 'created' me, but I've heard the stories." She glanced up at Cana, her new, red eyes sad. "They're wrong about one thing, though. A lot of people are still scared of Majins."

Gatta sighed over the video link. "The first couple generations of Majin were still very powerful," she explained. "And not all of them knew how best to use that power. There are still some bad feelings from those days."

"Is that why I've never seen one in West City?" Cana asked.

"We have a few," Bockser said with a shrug. "A lot more of them live around Satan City, south of East City. Some kind of ancestral home or something."

Cana leaned back against the fridge and crossed her arms, looking at the little pink girl across from her. "Maybe they'd take Uru in if I brought her there," she said. The Majin's eyes widened at the words.

"I don't really know how Majin families work," Gatta said. "Is she all alone?"

"That's right," the Saiyan said. "She was living in a forest when I found her. She followed me after I left, says she wants to come with me." Uru nodded firmly and Cana grinned. "You said that Majin used to be powerful..."

Bockser fielded the unspoken question. "They're not much stronger than a normal human these days," he said. "At least, not without training."

Cana tilted her head, considering. "She's fast, though," she said, almost to herself. "And she survived on her own. I bet that the power is still in there."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line. "Maybe," Bockser said. "What are you thinking?"

"Not sure yet," the Saiyan answered with a faint smile. "But I appreciate you guys calling and checking in on me, and for everything else you've done. I'll make it up to you both one of these days... somehow."

Bockser blushed and Gatta smiled. "Just be sure to keep in touch, Cana," the older girl said. "I know you can take care of yourself, but we still worry." She reached out and hit a button, turning away from the camera, but the call didn't end. The corner of Cana's mouth quirked upward. The other girl had hit the wrong key. "Oh boy," Gatta said, looking up at her brother. "A Saiyan and a Majin... we didn't pack them nearly enough food."

As she spoke those last words, Bockser leaned forward and hit the correct button, and the video feed blinked off.

Cana looked up to find Uru staring at her expectantly. "Did you mean what you said..." the Majin began. "About taking me with you?"

She didn't answer right away. Cana pushed off from the refrigerator and stretched, looking past the girl to see blue skies out the window. "I do some exercises early in the mornings before I set out," the Saiyan said. "I want you to train with me. You up for it, kiddo?"

The Majin grinned and pumped one fist into the air. "Yeah!"

* * *

The first day was both better and worse than Cana had hoped. Uru didn't show signs of incredible strength or endurance right off the bat, but her enthusiasm was encouraging. Her exhaustion and discomfort with the various exercises and strength training that Cana put her through was clear, and yet the girl kept pushing on and through the pain, showing almost immediate signs of improvement. The Majin didn't want to let her new friend down.

Things were better when they packed up the capsule house and started moving towards the next Dragon Ball. While Uru couldn't fight and had no concept of _ki_ , she could run pretty fast. Cana still had to slow her pace to accommodate the younger girl, but not as much as she had feared the previous day. Despite her constant awareness of the draining away of time, that she had less than three months to find the remaining five Dragon Balls, she was happy to slow down for Uru's sake. It allowed her to enjoy the landscape more and to talk to the Majin.

Uru hung on to her every word, which was gratifying and flattering, but not obsequious or ingratiating. She was just interested and in awe of Cana's strength and knowledge, and the Saiyan ended up telling the Majin even more about herself and her past than she had told Jesi. Uru didn't judge or look disappointed in her when the Saiyan skirted issues like her fear of Letta and Lenti or her complicity in the Grayne massacre.

It helped Cana more than she could have guessed.

She had spent the last two years arguing in her own head, running over the same ground again and again, spinning in circles and exhausting herself. Nothing had been resolved, Cana had just grown weary of the thoughts and memories that had haunted her. Saying the words out loud brought the failures and minor victories into the light and in a different perspective. It didn't absolve her of her guilt, but face to face with the innocence of the Majin girl, it was difficult to drown in her own depression.

The following days, Uru showed significant improvements. She would come out to train with Cana before the sun rose and showed no signs of aches or pains or tiredness from the day before and lasted much longer before she gave up. So improved was she that the Saiyan began to show her the basics of _ki_ control. The look on the Majin's face when she formed that first ball of violet energy was priceless and kept them both smiling for hours.

"You're a natural, kiddo," Cana told her over dinner that night. Feeling good, the Saiyan had decided to fish for their dinner instead of using a capsule, and she had gotten a real monster of a catch, a giant blue and purple one that was nearly as tall as she was. She had told Uru to create a fire using a blast of energy and cooked the fish for the two of them.

While Uru preferred chocolates, candies, and pastries, she ate the marine beast ravenously, much as Cana herself did. "It's easy when I watch you do it," the Majin said between bites.

The older girl tilted her head back to laugh. "Keep it up and you'll get even stronger than I am."

"Yeah, right," Uru said. Then she tilted her own head back and laughed in the exact same way that Cana had.

The Saiyan's smile faded, and she watched the girl across the flickering flames of their cooking fire closely. She realized that Uru was sitting in the same way that she was, eating the same, and now laughing the same. _Not to mention the eyes_ , she thought. The Majin was clearly a gifted mimic, which might also explain how she was learning Cana's techniques so quickly. Whether that was something intrinsic to her race or not, the Saiyan didn't know, but it gave her pause.

"Hey, Uru," she said after a moment's thought. Cana brought her knees up to hug them against her chest. The younger girl imitated the motion. "Are you... copying me?"

"Well... yeah!" the Majin said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You're like the coolest person ever, Cana. I want to be just like you!"

The praise felt good, but it also made her blood run cold. She had to nip this in the bud and fast. "Listen..." she began, gathering her thoughts. "You're fine the way you are, kiddo. It's okay for you to learn from me, to be influenced by me or by anyone else you want, but you don't need to become someone else." Cana smiled, remembering Jesi's words to her the day before she had left on her journey. "You're Uru. That's good enough for me. Do you understand?"

The Majin girl nodded slowly. "I think so," she said. "I should be Uru, not Cana."

"Right," the Saiyan said.

There was a long moment of silence. "Sorry if I did something wrong," the girl said.

Cana rose to move over to Uru's side of the fire and sat down next to her, putting an arm around the Majin. "You don't need to apologize. There was someone I idolized when I was younger, too." The older girl shivered. "But when I started becoming like her, I realized I didn't want to be the same as she was."

The younger girl leaned her pink head against Cana's shoulder. "Can I keep the eyes?" she asked. "They're... pretty." Cana almost cringed, hearing Letta in her head, but she couldn't keep living in the past, she had to move out from under the older Saiyan's shadow.

"Sure," she said. She forced herself to smile. "I think they look pretty on you, too."

* * *

As the third week of Cana's journey wore on, she and Uru reached the shore of the ocean. The blue sea stretched in front of them for an unguessable distance, sunlight glittering on the rippling water and lighting the sand with gold. Uru laughed and charged forward into the surf, enjoying her first visit to the beach with childlike glee. Cana smiled watching her, but wondered what her next step should be. According to the Dragon Radar, the next Dragon Ball was somewhere out in that vast ocean.

The answer was in the case of capsules that the Briefs siblings had given her. One of the dyno-caps contained a rowboat, a vehicle that Cana figured was primitive enough not to go against Master Tien's directives or her own. At the very least, the Saiyan could row Uru and herself to the location of the ball. If it was on an island, great, if it was somewhere under the waves, well... she would go under that bridge when she reached it.

With strong, steady strokes of the oars, Cana pulled the boat holding the duo into the deep blue of the ocean, Uru watching in wonder as the shore slipped away. Time slipped away with it. The Saiyan consulted the radar often, not wanting to go off course or row in circles. As she drew closer to her goal, she saw with some relief that the ball was indeed on a small island. Her brows drew together in a frown. A _very_ small island. Little more than a sandbar, really.

It came into sight not long afterwards, revealing that it was just as small as the radar had shown, but it was not empty. Instead, to Cana's surprise, there was a little house on it, with pink walls and a red roof. The words "Kame House" were painted in red on one side of the dwelling, which rested in the shade of a few palm trees.

"Ooh, who lives there?" Uru asked after having Cana read the words to her.

"No idea," the Saiyan answered. "'Kame'... that could mean a couple different things, but seeing as we're out in the ocean, I'm guessing it means 'turtle'."

The Majin looked at her, skeptical. "Turtle House?"

Cana could only shrug. They reached the tiny island and jumped off the boat. According to the radar, the ball was inside the small building. _Another Dragon Ball that's in someone else's possession,_ Cana thought. _I have all the luck_.

They approached the building at a slow walk, alert for anything else unusual. Before the two girls reached the house, the door opened and a bizarre person stepped out. The sunlight reflected brightly off the small figure's bald head, forcing Saiyan and Majin to throw up their arms to protect their eyes from the glare. As their eyes adjusted, they could see that it was an old man wearing dark glasses, shorts, and a patterned shirt. He carried a wooden staff and a purple turtle shell strapped to his back.

"Well, well," the old-timer said. "It's been a long time since I've had a young girl visit this island, much less two of them." He smiled widely. "Fortune smiles upon me at last." He raised his arms grandly. "Welcome, pretty ladies," he said. "Welcome to the island of the Turtle Hermit, Master Sheru!"

 _I have_ all _the luck_ , Cana thought.


	11. Chapter 11

No one spoke for several awkward seconds after the man's grand pronouncement. He stood there with his arms raised, trying to look very majestic and powerful while Cana and Uru just stared at him. The self-proclaimed master – Sheru – began to tremble, flop sweat beading on his bald brow.

"He _does_ look like a turtle," Uru said at last, and Cana smirked. She had to agree. With his bald, beardless head sticking out from his tropical shirt and the shell he wore, not to mention his shuffling walk, he did seem like some sort of human tortoise.

The old man smacked the butt of his staff against the sand. "Don't you girls know grandeur when you see it?" he asked. "People have come from all over the world seeking my strength and wisdom. I'm a legend!"

Cana shrugged. "I've never heard of you."

"Me neither," chirped Uru, raising a hand.

"I'm only one of the greatest martial arts instructors in the world, young ones," Sheru said, strident now. "The heir to the Turtle Style made famous by my predecessor, Master Roshi, and his greatest students, Krillin, Yamcha, and – of course – Son Goku."

The Saiyan girl perked up at that name, the Earthling designation of Kakarot. "Goku trained here?"

But Sheru huffed and turned away from her, seemingly offended by their indifference. "Isn't that what I just said?" he asked. "Maybe you understand who I am now? Perhaps you'll show me a bit of the respect I've earned, hm?" Cana rolled her eyes.

"But you just said it was your predecessor that -"

"Don't get hung up on the details!" Sheru shouted, turning and stamping his staff on the ground again.

It occurred to the Saiyan girl that the strange old man was almost certainly the owner of the Dragon Ball the radar had detected on this little island and that it would do no good to antagonize him, as fun as it might be. Besides, it he were telling the truth about being the successor to the teacher that had trained the legendary Kakarot, perhaps he was due some respect after all. So with an effort of will, Cana put her hands to her side and bowed low at the waist to the little man.

"I apologize, Master Sheru," she said. "I meant no disrespect." From the corner of her eye, she saw Uru glance at her, then duplicate her bow. _Good girl_ , Cana thought.

"Hm, hm, hm..." the old hummed to himself. "It's good to see that you aren't completely without manners, girls. Maybe there's some hope for your generation yet."

Cana forced herself not to snarl at the condescending words. "We just haven't had the opportunity to learn from our wise elders," she said, rising from her bow.

Sheru snorted. "All right, girl, don't pour it on too thick. I accept your apology. And I hope you'll accept mine as well. When you live this far from civilization, you take your fun where you can find it." He lowered his head, and Cana could see the sparkle of the man's eyes behind the dark lenses of his shades. "But you and your Majin friend weren't quite as easy to impress as I had hoped."

"Maybe it's the outfit," Cana suggested, more at ease now that the Turtle Hermit's game had ended and they could talk like normal people. Uru giggled. _A Saiyan, a Majin, and a crazed old man... "normal". Right._

The little man looked down at his tropical shirt and over his shoulder at the purple turtle shell he wore on his back. "Perhaps," he admitted. "But it's part of the Turtle Hermit lifestyle. Kind of a uniform, you might say."

"I'll take your word for it," the spiky-haired girl said dryly.

"I don't quite understand it myself," Sheru said with a smile. "Old Master Roshi was a strange fellow, but effective. Right up until the end of his very long life, he was still teaching. I was one of his last students. Following in my ancestor's footsteps."

Cana raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

The little man nodded. "That's right. Krillin trained on this very island with Son Goku – his best friend – generations back. He became one of the great heroes of this planet. Met his wife on those adventures. Founded the New Turtle School. Lived to a ripe old age." He waved a hand as if to push the past away. "But you two aren't here for a history lesson." He gestured with his staff to Cana's right. "Especially not her."

Looking to one side, Cana saw that Uru was asleep on her feet. Literally. Her head was nodding up and down in jerky motions as she dozed. The Saiyan's lips turned up at the sight of her young friend. "Well we've traveled a long way," she explained.

"Indeed you have, indeed you have," Sheru said. "Not many know that this island even exists or where it is. I'm mighty curious to know what brings _two_ strange young women here at the same time."

This time, Cana was wise to the old man. "But you do," she said, calling him on his deception. She was rewarded with a tight smile. "You know why we're here. You may even know who I am. I'm guessing... a little bird told you. A crane maybe."

Sheru laughed loudly and Uru jumped to wakefulness at the sound. "Very good, young lady," the Turtle Hermit said. "Only the bird that told me isn't so little. He's a big, tough old thing. Makes me look like a spring chicken." He nodded his bald head. "Yes, I was told about you, Cana. About who and what you are. I was intrigued to say the least. Saiyans and Dragon Balls... there's a combination that hasn't been seen in a long time."

"So you have it then?" Cana asked, trying not to show her eagerness. "Can I have it?"

"Not so fast," the old man said, holding up a hand. That same hand reached inside his patterned shirt and pulled out the Dragon Ball, which hung from a chain around his neck.

A gasp slipped from Uru's mouth. "He has one of the shiny stones, too!" Cana said nothing, she narrowed her eyes and peered at the orb, counting the stars. _One, two, three... four. The four-star ball._

"That's right," Sheru said. "I have the ball, but I'm not planning on handing it over to just anyone."

Cana couldn't even be annoyed. None of the Dragon Balls so far had been just handed to her without some kind of issue, and she hadn't expected this one to be any different. "What do you want us to do?" she asked.

"Old Tien sent you off on this little quest as training, right?" Master Sheru said.

"'Conditioning' was the word he used," Cana corrected him.

The old man smiled. "Right," he said. "Well he thinks of you as his student. It's my intention to steal you away from him." The Saiyan's jaw dropped. "I want you to let me train you. It's been a long time since I had a student, and I can't resist the chance to show you how much better the Turtle Style is over the Crane Style."

"I don't have that much time," Cana hedged. "I only have about two months left to gather the rest of the Dragon Balls."

"Give me one month," Sheru said confidently. "In one month I can get you into the best shape of your life and teach you a few new tricks, too."

Cana crossed her arms, looking up into the lightly clouded sky. She couldn't deny that part of her was tempted. The great Kakarot had been a student of the previous Turtle Hermit, and she wondered about these "tricks" the old man had mentioned. New martial arts skills? New techniques? But there was so little time. If she were to remain with the Turtle Hermit for a full month, that would leave her with only a little over four weeks to retrieve the remaining four Dragon Balls. She was left with the same dilemma she had faced when she had meant to leave Uru behind. Was _finding_ the balls enough? Was she actually meant to obtain them?

A tug on her arm brought her out of her reverie. "Cana?" Uru asked, looking up at her. "What should we do?"

This wasn't just about the Dragon Balls, the Saiyan realized, this was about the real reason for the journey. The orange orbs were just a means to an end. This was about her conditioning. About her learning who she was and who she wanted to be.

Her red eyes fixed on the little old man, who stood there waiting patiently for her answer. There was a small smile on his face, as if he already knew what her answer would be. Maybe he did.

"Okay," Cana said. "One month. Teach me."

* * *

What the spiky-haired Saiyan had expected was something similar to the Crane School, with very structured and traditional forms of teaching and learning. Strikes, grapples, and counters, mixed with the usual array of calisthenics and strength training. Cana had watched Jesi go through such rituals day after day for nearly two full years and had a pretty good understanding of it. The Saiyan way of doing things was a bit more rough and tumble, a bit more "on-the-job" training then classroom work, but it was equally effective.

What she got instead from Master Sheru was a baffling array of odd jobs and activities. Cana's expectations were shattered right away when the old man had gone into his house to fetch a purple turtle shell similar to the one that he was wearing and insisted she put it on. It turned out to be heavy. A hundred pounds at least. This was strange, but the Saiyan at least understood the principle of it, having done a bit of gravity training when she was younger. The weighted shell was a crude alternative.

"Usually I start my students out slow," Sheru said as she strapped on the heavy carapace. "I don't give them the weight right away, but you're a bit advanced for this." He sniffed. "It'll still be easier for you than for most, but this is about getting you back in peak shape, and repetition is key." Uru couldn't help but giggle seeing her friend wearing the shell, and Cana grimaced, feeling self-conscious.

The Turtle Hermit packed his little house in a capsule and had Cana row the three of them to a nearby island, a larger one this time, and a populated one. By the time the old man had settled on a new spot to put the Kame House, it was nearing dinnertime. Both Cana and Uru's stomachs growled, but the Saiyan would not be eating yet. She waited for her new master, who was casting about for something on the ground, picking up small rocks and throwing them aside, seemingly looking for a specific stone.

At last he found one that suited him, a white stone the size of his closed fist. Producing a marker from his shorts pocket, he wrote the symbol for "Turtle" on it and showed it to the Saiyan girl. "Okay," he said. "Lesson one." He turned to the depths of the island that lay beyond his house and drew back his arm before throwing the white stone far inland. Sheru faced her again. "Find that rock and bring it back to me. Once you do, you can eat." He reached out with one hand. "If you have any food or anything that might help you, give it to me now."

Reluctantly, Cana reached into her pocket and withdrew the case of dyno-caps to give it to the old man. "You're going to feed Uru, right?" she asked.

"Of course, of course," Sheru said, nodding. "I wouldn't let the poor girl suffer for your failure."

The Saiyan bared her teeth. "Failure, huh?" she asked.

The old man was already turning away. "Oh, and no flying, of course," he said over his shoulder. "If you don't find it by midnight, you'll be getting no food tonight. Good luck."

"Bye, Cana!" Uru said, waving to her. "I'm sure you'll find that stone in no time." Cana grinned at her young friend and gave her a thumbs-up before turning and leaping away... a much lower leap than she was normally capable of thanks to the shell on her back.

She didn't hear the old man chuckling to himself as she left.

* * *

Seven hours went by.

Cana returned, hungry, sweaty, footsore, and angry after a fruitless evening of searching. The shell weighed her down, and the straps dug into her shoulders, adding to her discomfort. As frustrated as she was, she wasn't so thoughtless as to enter the house with a loud noise, though she very much wanted to slam the door and stomp through the little building.

With remarkable restraint, the Saiyan entered the house and closed the door as quiet as she could. Turning back into the house, she began to pick her way through the darkened building blindly. She only made it two steps before a small light turned on in the living room. It was a lamp on a small table next to the couch. Under the lamp, near the center of the dim circle of light it cast, was the white stone, the Turtle symbol clearly visible.

Cana's eyelid twitched, and she walked to the table and hefted the rock. Another light clicked on, but she didn't look up. She knew who was there. "You tricked me," she said, not shifting her gaze from the object she held.

"I did," Master Sheru admitted. "I actually picked up two stones. The one I threw was blank."

The spiky-haired girl looked up to see the old man seated in a comfortable looking chair, his feet up on an ottoman. He looked unconcerned in the face of her anger, still wearing his sunglasses even indoors and at night. "So I never even had a chance of finding the rock," Cana bit out. "That's hardly -"

"Hardly what?" Sheru interrupted, his voice quiet but harsh. "Hardly fair? Is that what you were expecting from my training? Is that how Saiyans do things? I find that difficult to believe."

That took the edge off of her anger, but it still simmered inside her. "I don't like no-win situations," she said after a moment.

"And what did you lose?" the Turtle Hermit asked. "Some food. Some sleep. There are worse things."

Cana chewed on her lip. The old man was right, she was acting childish, lashing out in a fit of pique. This was training, not a vacation. Even her journey thus far had been relatively easy, perhaps some harsher instruction was in order. She sighed. "You're right," she said, the admission coming hard. "Forgive me, Master Sheru."

He nodded an acknowledgment at her. "You have completed the first lesson," he said. "You've learned Turtle Hermit training isn't like other martial arts schools'. It's different, but practical. You'll find out more about that tomorrow. It's about more than the art of war, it's about the art of peace." The old man looked up at the ceiling. "Too many schools only teach the art of war as if all victories are won through strength. They're not. They're won through strategy. Strategy may be created during battle, but it's honed through peace. Do you understand?"

"I think so," Cana said. "Your training won't be focused on punching and kicking, on blocking and throwing, but on other things."

"Just so," Sheru said, nodding and rising from his chair. "There are other ways to become stronger. Your journey is one way. Turtle Hermit training will do the same thing, better and faster." He gestured to the stairs. "Your room is upstairs, at the end of the hall. Your Majin friend is already there sleeping." He made a face. "She ate enough for both of you."

Cana winced at the reminder that she hadn't had dinner. "Well I hope you have a big breakfast lined up for us," she said.

There was a snort of laughter from the old man. "I'll see what I can do," he said. "Now get some rest for tomorrow. You'll need it."

* * *

It was still dark when she awoke. Not dim like early morning, but black like night time. A rhythmic tapping brought her out of a deep slumber filled with dreams of food. It was too early for this. She felt like she had only just gotten to sleep.

"Come on, girl, up and at 'em," the old man said. Red eyes pried open to see the Turtle Hermit standing in the doorway, tapping his staff against the floor. "We've got to get an early start."

An inexpertly thrown pillow smacked against the wall near where the old man stood. "I wish you were kidding," Cana mumbled from Uru's left, on the other side of loft where she had slept. The Majin tried to pull herself to wakefulness, blinking sleep-sand from her eyes and struggling to sit up.

"Hey, Cana," the pink girl yawned, running the back of one hand across her face. "Did you find the stone?"

The Saiyan chuckled as she rolled out of bed. "Oh yeah," she said. "Turns out it was right under my nose the whole time."

Uru smiled at her companion. "I knew you'd do it," she said and yawned again.

"I'm sorry for waking you, young one," the old man said. "You can go back to bed. Cana and I are going to get some morning training in."

Another snort of laughter from Uru's left. "'Morning' he says," Cana muttered.

"Four thirty in the morning, to be precise," the Turtle Hermit clarified. "I let you sleep in a little since it's your first day." Cana groaned at this. "Here, put this on," he continued, ignoring her and tossing a bundle towards the Saiyan. "And come down quick."

The Majin swung her legs off of the small cot she had slept on. "Get one for me, too, old guy," she said. "I want to train with Cana."

"I wouldn't recommend it," the old man said. "This is the most difficult physical conditioning devised by man. Very few people can handle it."

"I've already been working with her," Uru said stubbornly. "I want to go with Cana." _I won't be left behind,_ she thought.

Her spiky-haired friend gave her a look. "You sure about his, kiddo? I have a feeling that he's telling the truth. This isn't going to be easy, and it's not going to be fun. Still want to come?" Uru gave a vigorous nod. The Saiyan turned to the old man. "She learns quick," Cana said. "She recovers fast, too. Is there any harm in letting her try?"

The Turtle Hermit pushed out his chin. "I suppose not. I'll try and find a uniform her size." He turned and shuffled out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Uru watched Cana unroll the bundle she had been given, revealing an orange gi, the "turtle" symbol sewn into a white circle on one breast. The Saiyan clucked her tongue and shook her head. "Not really my color," she said. She held it up to her body and turned towards the Majin. "What do you think?"

"Not my color either," Uru said, making a face.


	12. Chapter 12

Cana watched the odd tableau before her. From her perspective she saw Master Sheru and Uru sitting, clinging to a green ceiling like stalactites. The old man sat upside-down before a blackboard covered in capital and lowercase letters, lecturing quietly to the attentive Majin. They rose and fell rhythmically, but they didn't seem to notice the movement.

 _Four hundred ninety-eight, four hundred ninety-nine, five hundred..._

The Saiyan's arms burned and the rest of her body ached in a way that she remembered from her peacekeeping days. Turtle Hermit training was as intense a workout as Cana had ever experienced and her sore muscles were the proof of it. It was a familiar pain, a long-forgotten one, but one she welcomed as she would an old friend. These last few weeks had made her realize that – while she had no regrets about coming to Earth – it had been wrong of her to let herself go, to stop training and learning and growing. Without the connection to her own body, she had been left even more adrift than she otherwise would have been.

 _Five hundred and ten, five hundred eleven, five hundred twelve..._

Abdominal muscles tightened, bringing her body more in line to stop her from tipping over. The shell on her back was a weight Cana had grown accustomed to and she had learned how to keep her balance with the extra one hundred pounds. Even now – when she was upside-down, feet in the air, doing vertical push-ups with sweat dripping "up _"_ her forehead – she was able to adjust her movements to compensate. Her defined abs had returned, honed by the daily tasks the old man had given her and – to a lesser extent – to Uru... the milk delivery, the plowing, the construction work, the swimming, and the Kami-damned bees. _"No using ki,"_ Sheru had said, smiling. Of course he was smiling, he wasn't the one getting stung by dozens of angry insects. Even with that limitation, Cana might have been able to dodge the bugs if she hadn't been tied to a tree by a short rope, limiting her movement and the Majin's to the point that they were practically tripping over each other.

 _Five hundred twenty-five, Five hundred twenty-six, Five hundred twenty-seven..._

This was actually meant to be down-time for the Saiyan while the master attempted to teach Uru how to read – exercising mind as well as body, he had said – but she didn't want to lose her momentum. Besides, keeping herself physically occupied stopped her from thinking too much. If she thought too much she would realize that it was already July and she had obtained only two Dragon Balls with one in abeyance, still in the old man's possession until her training was complete. Time was draining away.

 _Five hundred fifty-one, five hundred fifty-two, five hundred fifty-three..._

She didn't even know why it mattered to her so much. Cana had no wish to make and – by his own admission – neither did Master Tien. Finding the Dragon Balls was a mission that she had no stake in, but it was _her_ mission. It was a purpose, something she had been sorely lacking for the last two years, ever since she had left the Saiyan peacekeepers.

 _Five hundred seventy-eight, five hundred seventy-nine, five hundred eighty..._

There was peril there, too, she realized. The training, the mission, the departure from West City... Cana didn't want to leave her human existence behind, but she was slipping unconsciously into old habits and old ways of thinking. Was it even possible for her to integrate the two different sides of her personality? Or would she have to choose? Would she have to leave her Earthling existence behind? Leave Jesi?

Her body wavered and her arms gave way. The Saiyan fell backwards to the ground with a crash and burst of pain as she landed awkwardly on the purple shell strapped to her. The physical pain was a minor irritant, but her face flushed with embarrassment, knowing that she looked very much like a turtle stuck on its back. The comparison was only visual, however. Cana was very much able to get back on her feet, but she lay in place for a moment, berating herself for her loss of focus.

A pair of orange-clad legs approached from one side. "Are you okay, Cana?" Uru asked, concern evident in her voice.

"Just injured my pride," the Saiyan said. She bent her knees and vaulted back to her feet, wobbling only slightly as she landed.

The distinctive shuffle of the Turtle Hermit came from behind her. "Finally reached your limit, hm?" the old man asked.

Cana grinned over her shoulder. "Not a chance, just got distracted." She shook her arms, which were already stiffening with muscle fatigue. "Apologies, Master Sheru," she continued. "I should have been paying more attention."

The Turtle Hermit stared at her, frowning. "No, this is my fault, girl," he said. "I've been focusing too much on your physical training and on teaching the young Majin here. Your workout has become routine, your mind has become bored, and you're thinking of other things." He looked up into the lightly clouded sky through his sunglasses. "I do believe it's time to start the next part of your training, something a little more... cerebral."

"What did you have in mind?" Cana asked, turning to face the old man squarely. Her interest was piqued.

Sheru looked down and smiled. "I'm going to teach you how to expand your mind and your senses."

* * *

Her master's fist shot out, almost too fast to see. She raised an arm to block or deflect the blow, but her reaction was delayed, and the attack struck her sternum, knocking her back to the very edge of the ring. She teetered there for a moment, arms windmilling in an attempt to regain her balance, but it was futile. The girl fell, landing painfully on her back with a loud exhalation.

She stared up into the gray sky, sheened with sweat in the still, hot air of the courtyard until the silhouette of the old man eclipsed her view of the clouds. "You're slow today, Jesi," Master Tien said. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Master," she said, climbing to her feet. "I'm fine."

Tien's third eye narrowed. "This is the third time I've knocked you out of the ring," he said. "If there's nothing wrong, then it seems that I've chosen the wrong student to represent the Crane School in the World Martial Arts Tournament."

The red-headed high school student squared her shoulders. "You didn't make a mistake, Master," she said. "It was just a momentary distraction. It won't happen again."

"It might help if you would talk about it," the Crane School master said. He lowered himself to sit on the edge of the stone platform they had been sparring on. "Let me guess... your friend, Cana?"

Jesi glanced down. "Yes, Master," she said. "It's been almost two months and I haven't heard from her."

The master stared at her with his two blind eyes and one good one. "Do you believe she's in some kind of danger or trouble?" he asked.

"No, no," the red-head said, raising her hands. "It's not that. Cana can be..." a brief smile flickered across Jesi's face. "She can be a wimp about the weirdest things – people, the dark, getting touched – but she's actually really tough. That's why I wanted her to join your school, Master. I thought it would be good for her." Her brows furrowed and she shot a look across the courtyard to the spot where her friend would normally sit and watch the training classes. "But I guess you didn't agree..."

"It wasn't that I thought she _couldn't_ do it," her teacher explained in his rough voice. "But I saw that she wasn't in the proper mental state to be taught. You know the dedication it takes, the commitment. Cana lacked the patience for my instruction."

Jesi bit her lip. "She could've learned."

Master Tien tilted his head as if considering his student. "Are you angry at me for rejecting her?"

"Not... angry," Jesi sighed and crossed her arms. "I just wish she could be here. Me and her share so much, and I wanted to share this with her, too. To show her why it excites me, why I've devoted so much of my time to martial arts."

"I'm sure she understands," the master said.

The girl shook her head. "Understanding is one thing. Sharing is different."

Tien stood without using his hands, the ease of his movement putting the lie to his advanced age. Jesi felt privileged to see this side of the old man, to look behind the curtain of the sedge hat and the affectation of frailty. Her respect for her master had never wavered, but she was in awe of him now seeing the strength that he had kept hidden. Now she could realize just how powerful the man was, and knew that everything she had learned before was merely an appetizer, and the depths of his knowledge went so much further than she had guessed.

"You're both still young," he said. "There's time to understand _and_ to share. But before you get to the future, you have to exist in the _now_. And that means you must focus. You cannot let yourself be distracted in a battle. You cannot let yourself wonder what that noise is," he snapped his fingers. "If the weather will turn," he pointed up at the cloudy sky. "... your next meal," he indicated the place Cana would sit, "...or where your friend has gone. The moment your attention slips, you've given your opponent a massive advantage. And then..."

Jesi chuckled and spread her arms to encompass the spot where she now stood. "And then I'm out of the ring."

"Or worse." He stepped back from the edge of the raised square, beckoning her to join him on the stone platform.

The red-head leapt onto the stage from a standing position. She shook herself, loosening her muscles, and set herself into a fighting posture, legs bent, arms raised, but Master Tien shook his head. Jesi frowned. "I'm good to go now, Master," she said. "I won't get distracted again."

A small smile crossed the old man's face. "That may be true, but I believe it's best if I teach you something that might help. A way to direct your mind. This skill can be used in battle as well as out of it."

"What is it, Master?" Jesi asked, intrigued.

"You know how to manipulate your own _ki_ ," Tien said, putting his hands behind his back in a "lecturing" posture the red-head was very familiar with. "But it's also possible to sense the energy of others. This is how I'm able to... 'see' you and the others during classes."

"But isn't that because of your..." Jesi indicated her own forehead, blushing self-consciously.

The master seemed to sense her discomfort and his smile broadened. "My third eye enhances the skill, but anyone can do it if they learn."

Jesi bounced on her heels in an expression of girlish excitement. "Teach me, Master," she said.

"Slow down, Jesi," Tien said. "This isn't something that's easy to describe. It would be like..." he chuckled. "Like explaining sight to someone who's blind." He looked up, thinking. "Close your eyes and find your center." The red-head did so, the world going black around her. "Gather your _ki_ ," the old man said, his voice taking on a slow, sonorous, hypnotic quality. "Imagine it as a sphere inside you. Can you feel it?"

The girl nodded without speaking, almost able to see the ball of golden light gathered near her navel.

"Now turn your focus outward," her teacher continued. "Try and feel my energy, like a pressure in your mind, like a shadow against the light, or a light against the shadow. Color and texture and..." he sniffed, "even smell, in a way. Sensing _ki_ is all of these and none of them." His voice had taken on a dreamlike quality, seeming to come from everywhere at once. There was a long pause in which Jesi could see and hear nothing, all her normal senses appeared muffled or even muted.

"When you are ready," the master's voice came, almost in her own mind. "Point at where I am."

Jesi strained, concentrating on any sensation even remotely similar to what her teacher had described, but there was nothing. No light, no sound, no color or texture or taste. Her eyelids were heavy, and she felt that she couldn't open them even if she tried. All she could do was guess. One hand raised and she pointed ahead and to the right.

"Incorrect," Tien said from behind her. The red-head grit her teeth, but didn't open her eyes. She tried again to feel anything now that she knew where her teacher stood, but there was no sensation corresponding to his location. "Try again," the old man said.

Taking a deep breath, the girl centered her _ki_ inside her, starting from scratch.

Four more times she tried, and four more times she failed.

"What am I doing wrong?" she asked at last, frustrated by her lack of success.

The master's voice was calm, neither judgmental nor impatient. "You're trying too hard to hear me, to see me. I said that sensing energy was _like_ colors and textures, but it is an entirely different sensation, using a different method. This is mental, not physical." Jesi released an annoyed huff of air. "Calm yourself," Tien said.

For a long minute, she simply breathed, inhaling serenity and exhaling her anger.

"We'll try something different now," he said, and this time Jesi could hear that her teacher was in front of her. "Concentrate on where I am now." The red-haired girl followed his instructions, but all she could feel in front of her was a void. "Keep your attention focused on me," her teacher continued.

Darkness and silence. Then a shout; a _kiai_ , a sound martial artists would sometimes make to enhance the psychological impact of an attack. The ground seemed to tremble and the air to heat. Jesi almost opened her eyes, but she forced herself to keep them closed, to ignore the noise and the feel of earth and air. _It's not physical,_ she reminded herself.

And there it was! In front of her, a pressure that seemed to come from the direction that the master had been standing. Jesi pounced on the sensation, locking it in her mind and memory. The void was everywhere else, but not where Master Tien stood. As she concentrated, details were added to the pressure... an amber glow not dissimilar to her own _ki_ , and a firmness and hidden warmth that she associated with her teacher.

All at once the pressure and the light and the feeling faded, and the temperature returned to normal. Jesi stood once more on solid ground. But when she turned her mind forward, she could still feel the faint echo of the sensation.

Her green eyes snapped open, and her lips parted. "Wow," she gasped.

Master Tien grinned. "Very good," he said. "I had to unleash my power to provide you with a big enough contrast, but now you understand what you should be looking for." The smile faded, and he was all business once more. "Close your eyes. We'll try the first exercise again."

* * *

Cana stood on the glittering shore, looking out across the shimmering sea as the deep orange sun dipped past a distant bar of clouds to the horizon. One hand was raised in front of her eyes, partially blocking the light that streamed across the ocean and sent millions of sparks of reflected radiance into her vision. A gentle breeze drifted in from the water, a thankful relief from the sweltering heat of the day.

Three and a half weeks had passed since she had begun her Turtle Hermit training. The unusual workouts had strengthened her body significantly, and she felt physically better than she had for years, not to mention the new tricks she had learned. Cana was also happy to see how much Uru had improved in the past weeks. The Majin had struggled at first, worn out to a pitiful extent after each day, but she had never given up, never asked for a break, though between her and the Saiyan, they had nearly eaten Master Sheru out of house and home.

Uru's persistence had paid off and she had gotten the hang of the training. The younger girl had never managed to keep up with Cana herself, but she had found her own pace and rhythm. Cana was proud of her, and she was glad that her little friend had stuck with it.

The Saiyan's spine stiffened, though she didn't turn her head. "Hello, Master Sheru," she said, loud enough to be heard over the gentle slush and hiss of the surf, the sound of which had covered the noise of the Turtle Hermit's approach.

"Very good, girl," the old man said. "I was keeping my _ki_ suppressed, too, and you sensed me anyway."

"I've been practicing," Cana confirmed. The concept of detecting energy was not new to her – scouters being a crude mechanical replacement for the skill that Sheru had taught her – but it had taken the girl several days to become used to feeling the power of others without the use of a machine. She preferred it this way, without a cumbersome scouter attached to her head. "You told me to meet you here, Master. Is there something wrong?"

Sheru shuffled up next to her, looking across the ocean to the sunset through his dark lenses. "Nothing is 'wrong', Cana, but your time here is almost at an end." He turned to her and smiled. "Having you and Uru as students has been a joy, and I'll miss you both when you leave. You two have surpassed my expectations, and my only regret is that I didn't ask you for more time."

Cana felt a lump rise in her throat, surprised at the old man's show of sentiment, but warmed by it as well. "I appreciate what you've done for us, Master."

"As I said, your training is almost complete, but there is one last thing I want to teach you. Something created by Master Roshi long ago and passed down to all his students: A special technique." The old man shot her an inscrutable glance and stepped forward so that the waves lapped against his sandals. "Observe."

The Turtle Hermit dropped his staff into the soft sand and took a curious stance, bending his knees to lower his center of gravity, spreading his feet to distribute his weight more evenly. He clenched his fists and his muscles bulged outward, stretching the patterned shirt he wore near to bursting. His hands came up, cupped together wrist to wrist. "Kame..." The old man drew his arms back, and Cana could see a ball of azure energy forming near the junction of his cupped hands. More importantly, she could _feel_ Sheru's power rising to a level she hadn't felt from him before, a bright blue spark in her mind's eye. "Hame..." The light intensified, and Cana took a step backward, raising one arm to shield her eyes from the glow that outshone the setting sun.

"HA!" The old man's hands shot forward, and the glowing ball of whitish-blue light stretched, broadened, and became a wide beam of destructive energy that soared across the sea, parting the waters it passed over, steam boiling up in its wake. The river of concentrated power ended, and Cana watched in awe as it disappeared into the evening sky with a twinkle. She had seen _ki_ attacks before, even some very powerful ones, but she could see right away that there was something special about this technique.

"That wasn't just an expelling of gathered energy," the Saiyan said in a hushed tone as Master Sheru seemed to deflate, shoulders slumping as he regained his breath. "You were actually increasing your own power as you created the wave."

The old man knelt slowly to retrieve his staff. "Just so. The strongest _ki_ techniques are like that. Simple blasts and beams are quick and effective, but with a little effort and concentration, you can unleash even greater power. The Kamehameha is the trademark of the Turtle Style school."

Cana lifted one side of her lip in a half-smile. "'Turtle Destruction Wave'," she translated.

"You got it, girl," Master Sheru said. "Once you master the Kamehameha, the Dragon Ball will be yours, and you'll be free to continue your journey. Can you do it?"

"Just try and stop me," the Saiyan said with a cocksure grin. She stepped forward to the dark line of the tide, angling her head back and forth and shaking her arms to loosen her muscles. When she was ready, she took the same stance the old man had, cupping her hands in the same way. _Ki_ gathered between her hands, warming her palms. "Ka... me... ha... me..." her arms went back and a glowing, golden ball of energy formed.

Something was wrong. Cana knew it even as she finished the motion, bringing her arms forward again and firing the energy she had harnessed. An amber wave extended from her hands and off over the waves. It didn't have the power that the Turtle Hermit's had and vanished quickly. Slowly, feeling embarrassed, Cana straightened and turned to Sheru.

"That was just a regular _ki_ wave," he said, expressionless.

Cana frowned. "I know."

"Try again."

She did. And again. And again. At best, the girl could manage to fire a normal energy wave, powerful, but not a Kamehameha. Several times, when she tried different methods of gathering _ki_ , nothing happened at all.

"I don't understand," she said after several failed attempts, frustration heavy in her tone. "How is the Kamehameha different?"

"You saw it, girl," the old man said from where he now sat on the sand in the gathering dark. "More important, you _felt_ it. You know what you need to do. You have to unleash your power."

Cana shivered. Pictures flashed in her head. Essert. Letta's glare. Lenti's ruined face. Chard's body. A red tide of rage and a golden light.

Sheru stared at her from behind his sunglasses. "What is it, Cana?" The girl shook her head, unwilling and unable to put words to her memories. But somehow, the Turtle Hermit seemed to see past her stonewalling. He steepled his hands in front of his face, elbows resting on his knees. "What are you afraid of?"

"Too much," she answered, turning away. "Things I tried to do. Things I failed to do. Things I don't understand."

"We're all afraid of what we don't understand," the old man said. "But you can't keep hiding from the truth. If you do, the limits you know are the ones that will forever hold you back, because you're never going to risk seeing what's beyond them."

The Saiyan girl grit her teeth. "You make it sound so simple."

Master Sheru leaned forward to emphasize his words. "It _is_ simple. Don't overthink it, don't over-analyze it, don't over estimate it. If you're afraid of something, you have to face it."

"All right, already!" Cana shouted. The sun had sunk beneath the horizon, though the distant water still glowed orange at the edge of sight. Above them, the sky was a deep indigo, stars blinking into place overhead. "You're just like Tien," she growled. "You both want to see what a Saiyan is capable of, huh? Fine, have it your way. But don't blame me for what might happen."

Again, the girl took her stance, locking her arms in place. Her jaw clenched and her eyes squeezed shut. The power was there, inside her, she knew it, but she hesitated before reaching for it. The memories of her loss of control on Essert were still raw, even after all this time. Such power, but at what price? Her sanity? Her sentience? What if she were unable to tell friend from foe and hurt someone she cared about? Sheru, Uru, Gatta and Bockser...

Jesi.

"Face your fear!" The old man yelled from where he sat.

Without understanding the power, she would never know if she could control it. She had to try. She had to let go.

"Ka..." with that first syllable, the key turned in the lock. _Ki_ flowed through her, filling her with strength.

"Me..." The imaginary door opened, and energy flooded through the Saiyan's body.

Her hands drew back, and she formed the ball of azure light between her palms. "Ha..."

"That's it, girl!"

"Me..." All her muscles were tensed, saturated with _ki_ which she added to the growing orb.

 _There!_ Wine-red eyes opened. "HA!" Her arms shot forward and she liberated the power she had wrenched from the depths of her body, the depths of her spirit. Blue-white light poured from her palms in a massive wave. The beam spiraled over the dark sea, lighting the beach as if it were daytime. The force of the attack actually had recoil, as if she had fired a cannon. Cana understood now why the stance was necessary: It formed a kind of rudimentary tripod to absorb the equal-and-opposite reaction of the attack.

The stream of brightness and power ended and vanished into the night, the rushing roar of noise that accompanied it fading somewhat slower. Cana slumped in place, gasping for breath, scarce able to believe that such strength had been locked inside her.

An aged hand extended into her field of vision, holding a Dragon Ball. "I believe this is yours," the Turtle Hermit said. He was smiling.

* * *

 **A/N:** A bonus image has been added to my profile.


	13. Chapter 13

"I must admit..." Master Sheru said, leaning heavily on his staff, looking like nothing more than a strange old man. "I will miss you both. You are some of the best students I've ever had the pleasure of teaching." A brief frown crossed his face. "Although you ate enough food for a dozen people."

Uru giggled at that, and Cana smiled. They were back on Turtle Hermit Island, the small sandbar that Kame House had originally stood on when the Saiyan and the Majin had first found their teacher, dressed in their old travel clothes. The month had flown by... the days of delivering milk, of farm and construction work, of dodging bees and outrunning sharks were over, already fading like a half-remembered dream. All the changes the two had gone through, the things they had learned, would remain much longer. Uru had begun to tap into her latent power as well as learning to read, write, and do basic arithmetic... the old man was a multi-faceted teacher.

As for Cana... she had unearthed a part of herself that had been buried for two years and found – to her surprise – she had survived. She had retained her sense of self. "Thank you, Master Sheru," the Saiyan said. "You taught us well, took care of us when you didn't have to." She glanced down. "I've spent my time on Earth being afraid of getting too close to others, scared that they'd reject me. I see now I've missed out on meeting some great people."

"Ah..." the old man mumbled, pushing out his chin and turning away. "Ah..." He remained that way for a moment before taking a deep, shaking breath. "Now don't be getting all emotional on me, girl," he said, and Cana could tell that he was trying very hard to keep his voice gruff. "You've got Dragon Balls to find, don't you?" He turned back towards them and made a shooing motion with his staff. "Only a little over a month left... you better get going."

Cana pretended not to notice the Turtle Hermit's sentiment, hiding her grin. "You have a point," she said. "Ready to go, Uru?"

"Ready!" the Majin exclaimed, raising one hand and hopping in place, something she'd been doing a lot of since the two of them had shed their weighted, violet turtle shells. "Light as feather," she sang, bouncing back to the rowboat that had first taken the duo to the island. With a corkscrewing backflip, she landed right in her seat and gave a big wave of her arm to Master Sheru. "Bye, old guy! Thanks for everything!"

The old man chuckled under his breath and shook his head. "So energetic. She's a handful, girl, but I think you can keep her in line and keep her safe."

"Count on it," Cana said with a nod. Feeling an urge to show off, she bent her knees and leapt up and back, twenty feet in the air and directly into the boat. Her right foot hit one end of the oar and it catapulted into the air. The Saiyan caught it without looking and used it to push away from the island one-handed. The rowboat spun into the open water and she pulled them through the gentle waves and into the glittering sea.

Uru waved the entire time, until Kame House was out of sight over the horizon.

"What did you think?" the older girl asked her pink-skinned companion.

"He was a funny old man," Uru said brightly. "Nice, though. It was hard, but I had a lot of fun." She paused, trailing a hand in the water. "What about you?"

Cana stared off into the distance, remembering the difficult training, the things she had learned, the fear she had faced. A smile crossed her face. "I had fun, too," she said.

* * *

Only one month remained before the deadline was up, and Cana had only collected three of the seven Dragon Balls. During the most frustrating parts of the Turtle Hermit's training, she had despaired of ever being able to complete her mission, positive that the month delay would cost her any chance of fulfilling her promise to Tenshinhan. While the odds were still against her and Uru, Cana had not reckoned on one very important fact...

After their training, the Saiyan and the Majin could _move_.

All the exercise – not to mention the weighted clothes – had been just about he most perfect preparation for their journey. The duo dashed and leapt across the landscape, covering nearly a mile a minute, the countryside sliding away like a blurred map. Uru laughed, and Cana laughed with her, sounds of pure joy for movement, for activity, for _life_.

The distance to the next Dragon Ball shrank every day, more than the older girl would have believed possible without _bukujutsu_ flight. Even better, the Saiyan realized that what she had thought was one dot was actually two, close enough that they had appeared to indicate a single ball. If they could keep up this pace, then she just might manage to gather all seven of the mystical orbs by the end of September, just about the time that Jesi would be fighting in the World Martial Arts Tournament. _Maybe even before then!_ Cana thought. _I could watch her fight in the Budokai!_

She grinned and ran faster, happy and proud to see her young Majin friend keeping pace, sprinting close by, body low to the ground, arms stretched out to either side and slightly behind her. The little pink girl was also smiling.

A few days later, they had reached the land where the next Dragon Balls rested, a country of forests and rolling hills and sparkling little rivers. Leading them on like a beacon was a strange structure of a kind Cana had never seen before, a tall, narrow tower that stretched into the cloudless blue sky and out of sight, as if it went straight up to the heavens.

They slowed as they entered the lands surrounding the tower, which was visible even though it still appeared to be very far away. The countryside was hushed, not watchful or suspicious, but peaceful. _Sacred_ , the word came to Cana. Even the normally boisterous Uru seemed to sense it, quiet when she talked, restrained when she moved. Birds sang in trees and small animals crossed their path or hurried around the branches of the trees. They saw deer often, and once they spotted a bear trying to catch fish in a small stream. That stream joined up with a river that the two followed deeper into this serene country. If the Dragon Radar was correct, the waterway should lead them straight to the next ball.

In the hazy distance of the later morning, closer to the impossible tower, light smoke curled into the sky, so Cana knew there were people somewhere around here, but she did not see anyone. Nonetheless, the Saiyan became convinced someone was watching them. She saw nothing, heard nothing, and sensed nothing, but the feeling grew stronger the further they traveled.

"What's wrong, Cana?" Uru asked, seeming to notice her companion's increasing unease. The older girl could only shake her head, staring at the radar. They should have reached the Dragon Ball by now, but it seemed to be moving ahead of them even as they walked. Perhaps it was caught in the current of the river.

At last the river they had been following turned into their path, necessitating a crossing. And yet, Cana hesitated at the bank. It was less than thirty feet broad and she could make the leap easily. The Majin girl could, as well, but there was something forbidding about the place, almost as if there were a large sign that read "Turn Back Now". But nothing was visible. In fact, everything here seemed healthy and peaceful. It was only unfriendly to outsiders.

Cana shrugged off the sensation and shook her tense muscles loose. "Ready to jump, kiddo?" she asked.

Uru shivered. "Do we have to? There's something weird about this place."

"It'll be fine," the older girl said, forcing herself to smile and hoping it didn't look as unconvincing as it felt. "Here, I'll go first, there's nothing to be afraid of." The Majin nodded, dubious, and Cana patted her squishy pink head to reassure her. The Saiyan turned to the water, sprinted to the edge, and leapt up and forward in classic long-jumping form. She watched the far shore approach, already tensing her muscles for the landing when two things happened at once.

The first was the sound of Uru's scream: "Watch out!"

The second was the sensation of a strong hand grabbing her shoulder and _yanking_ her back. She was too surprised to resist the pull and in seconds she was slammed into the ground near where she had started, grinding a long furrow into the grassy turf with her impact. A yelp of surprise and pain escaped her, but she didn't hesitate, vaulting back to her feet and readying herself in a fighting stance.

She had regained her feet just in time to see a long, green snake slither away from her through the tussocks. Her red eyes followed the sinuous motion, tracing it back to...

A creature. It had green skin and dark eyes; patches of light, almost yellow flesh seemed to mark muscle groups on both arms and abdominals. Twin antennae and a pair of pointed ears extended from the creature's otherwise very humanoid head. It was shirtless, revealing a slender but muscular physique of medium height, definitely masculine. A necklace of animal teeth hung around his neck and he wore fringed leather pants of a deep tan. Red, horizontal tribal marks slashed across either cheek.

But it wasn't the savage looking dress or make-up that caught Cana's attention. She _knew_ this creature. Or at least she knew his kind. They were rare, and their homeworld was a well-kept secret, but the Saiyan had seen others like him. An all-male race, subsisting only on water; strong and – some said – capable of strange powers.

"A Namekian," she breathed as the green-skinned man's arm – what she had mistaken for a snake – shortened to a normal length to match its twin. He had somehow extended the limb to grab her from over twenty feet away. The alien must have been suppressing his energy earlier, because she hadn't felt him. Now she could sense the creature's power, as different from Master Sheru's as her Majin companion's was.

At the whispered word, the Namekian's gaze, which had already been directed at her in a glare, sharpened further. "How do you know that name?" he asked, and Cana was surprised to hear how much younger he sounded than she had expected. His tone was more like a sullen teenager than the primitive warrior he appeared to be.

"I've seen others of your race," Cana said.

The green-skinned man sneered at her. "There _are_ no others like me on Earth. Let me guess... you're not from around here." He tapped his hairless head with one finger. "I'm familiar with Majin, but you don't feel quite human. What are you and what are you doing here?"

Something about his attitude irritated the Saiyan. "That's none of your business," she said. "We're passing through, that's all I need to tell you."

"Not good enough," he said. "Everything beyond the bounds of this river as far as you can see is my business and my responsibility. My name is Arion. I watch over the Karinga, and I won't allow strong, possibly hostile strangers to walk into the Sacred Land of Korin." The Namekian reached into a pocket and pulled out a familiar looking object that glittered in the sun. "Especially ones that are looking for Dragon Balls."

Uru gasped from behind her, but Cana kept her face expressionless. "Interesting trinket you've got there."

"Don't play dumb," the Namekian snorted. "You were heading straight for me this entire time." He shoved the orb back into his pocket. "I'm not sure how you knew where to find the ball, but it doesn't matter. Don't you have any idea how dangerous these things are?! They're not toys!"

"I've heard the stories," Cana admitted. "For what it's worth, I'm not planning on using the Dragon Balls. I'm just collecting them."

Laughter was the green alien's response. "That makes sense," he said, sarcastic. "Either way, I'm afraid that your collection will always be at least one ball short. I won't give it up to you or to anybody else."

"And there's nothing I can do to convince you?"

"Not a chance," Arion said. He looked up and down at the girl and glanced at her shorter companion. "Why? Are you going to fight for it?"

Cana felt a thrill run through her. A battle against a Namekian. Her Saiyan blood warmed at the idea, and she focused her attention on the _ki_ she could sense from the other alien. He was strong. He would have to be to survive out here like this. But Cana had been trained by the Turtle Hermit and found at least a fragment of the power she had utilized as a peacekeeper. She was his match. Before she was aware of it, a predatory smile had spread across her face and she had settled into a fighting posture.

"You can take him, Cana," Uru urged. The Majin girl didn't comprehend the gravity of the situation, seeing it as a contest or a game rather than a life-threatening situation.

That realization allowed the Saiyan's brain to catch up with her body. _Do I really want to hurt this person for no real gain?_ She wondered. _I keep getting lucky with the Dragon Balls, but fortune doesn't smile on anyone forever. At some point there will be an orb that I can't get without_ really _fighting someone. Not a sparring match like with Bock, but an actual fight._

 _And I won't cross that line._

She ached for a fight, but she straightened, opening her fists and shaking her head. "No. I told you I don't want to use it. It's not worth a battle."

Arion crossed his arms slowly and nodded. "Your restraint speaks to your character," he said. "But I keep the ball, and you will have to go around these lands." The Namekian turned away. "I wish you safe travels... as long as they take you away from here."

"Much appreciated," Cana said, unable to keep the sardonic tone from her words. She gestured to Uru. "Let's get going, kiddo," she said to the Majin. "Looks like we're not welcome here." For a moment, the pink girl glanced back and forth between her friend and Arion, frowning, but she followed without a word of complaint. In seconds, the two had left the Namekian behind, angling away from the river that marked the border of Karinga lands.

They traveled in silence for a bit, but Cana could tell that her young companion was fit to bursting with frustration. The Saiyan understood and shared the feeling, but her decision was made, for better or for worse. At last Uru asked the question that was eating at her. "Why didn't you try and get the shiny stone from that guy?"

Cana stopped, and the Majin halted next to her. "Uru..." the older girl began, kneeling to lower herself to the Majin's height. "Do you remember the day we met?"

"Of course! Those two bad guys tried to steal my treasure, but you chased 'em down and got it back super fast! You were so cool."

A smile spread across Cana's face at the young Majin's description of events. "I chased the thieves down and got the Dragon Ball. I could have just kept going, Uru. I could have left you behind and just taken what I wanted. I thought about it."

Uru stared at her, a little of the sparkle leaving her red and black eyes. "But you didn't," she said quietly.

"I didn't. I returned and gave the ball back to you. I didn't know you would follow me. I thought I was leaving it behind for good. You know why?" Uru shook her head. "Because it belongs to you. I decided that I wasn't going to steal it, no matter what my mission is. I wasn't going to steal, and I was going to try very hard not to injure anyone."

"Is this because of what happened before?" Uru asked. "With that girl that hurt you?"

Cana nodded and stood. "Exactly. I won't follow in her footsteps. And if that means I fail, then that's the way it is. You get it?"

"Uh-huh! That's why you're the coolest, Cana!" Uru exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air, and the Saiyan laughed.

"Let's get going," the older girl said with a grin. "We'll do what we can and hope Master Tien understands."

* * *

"Captain!" a voice called from across the cavernous hangar, audible over the sounds of hammering and welding and talking. Machines and vehicles littered the building, most in various states of disrepair, and the smell of ozone, metal, and lubricants filled the air. The majority of the floor space, however, was taken up by a single gigantic object, vaguely man-shaped but rounded and headless. It was incomplete, but still dominated the structure, blocking the light and leaning threateningly over the heads of the soldiers working all around it. Sparks arced and flashed from various spots across the thing's body, marking where technicians had concentrated their efforts. "Captain Riso!"

A tall man turned away from his contemplation of the titanic machine under construction in front of him. His hair was bristly and gray, though he was not that old. A long scar ran down one side of his face over his steely eyes. "Report, soldier," he said, brief and succinct as ever.

The messenger approached to within five feet and snapped a smart salute. "Sir! The readings have all but converged! We have four readings right on top each other."

Captain Riso's eyes brightened. If his Rice Raiders could get a hold of those four targets, they would have five of the balls with only be two left to obtain, and then...

But there was a fly in the ointment, as always. "The girl?" he asked.

His subordinate hesitated before answering, confirming his suspicions. "It's likely, sir. We have been following her progress and it appears that she has carried three of the balls to the fourth. She must have a radar as well."

"Of course she does," another voice came from behind the captain. He didn't bother turning. He knew who it was: Their benefactor and greatest resource "And we know where she obtained it." The third man stopped at Riso's side. He was a middle-aged man with dark hair and a neat mustache, well-muscled under his ever-present white labcoat; surprising for a scientist. "It's not a problem. In fact, it makes our job much easier. Instead of running all over the world looking for the Dragon Balls, she's done most of the work for us."

"She's dangerous," Riso grunted.

The mustachioed scientist nodded. "Oh she's quite dangerous, I agree. Your soldiers that ran into her before were weak and easily frightened and I don't take their reports at face value, but this girl should not be under-estimated."

"Should I prepare a company of our soldiers, sir?" the soldier asked, still standing at attention.

"A company, a battalion, a regiment, it would make no difference," the scientist laughed. "No, I think we have a much better option for dealing with this particular pest." He turned to face Riso fully. "Captain, allow me to send Five-Nine. This would be a good opportunity to put him through his paces, and he has a much better chance of handling the girl."

Riso crossed his arms. "I've heard the stories of your... predecessor, Doctor," he rumbled. "Are you sure that it's loyal to you?"

The scientist's eyes glinted and he bared his teeth in a vicious smile. "Perfectly loyal," he said. "Gero's experiments may have been much more powerful, but his data was lost long ago. Five-Nine is closer to the old Red Ribbon Army's Android 8 than the later models, but I've had to re-create his work from scratch and I've taken all the necessary precautions. Trust me, Captain... once you see what he's capable of, you'll want an entire army of my creations to augment the Neo Battle Jacket we're building here."

 _Unlikely_ , Riso thought, keeping his face expressionless. _They may be strong, but I don't trust your soulless machines over my men._ "Do it," he said out loud. He would use the scientist and his creations for now, but once the Dragon Balls were in his possession, the captain would have no need for the doctor's services.

He would have no need for anything ever again.


	14. Chapter 14

"Guardian! It is good to see you again."

Arion paused in his stroll through the bustling Karinga tent village, glancing heavenward in mixed amusement and annoyance. He had taken responsibility for these people, had befriended them and adopted their ways as his own, but he had not yet been able to shake them of their habit of calling him "Guardian", a title that he disliked for various reasons, none of which he was willing to share with the villagers.

Although it was futile, he had to try, turning towards the child who had hailed him, a youth of about ten with long dark hair and wearing tanned leather not dissimilar to Arion's own clothes. "Please don't call me 'guardian', Rabb," he said to the boy as he approached, slipping between a pair of older women carrying clothes as they wandered by.

Rabb grinned at the Namekian. "Why not? That's what everyone else calls you."

"And I tell them not to whenever I hear them."

"Doesn't stop them," Rabb remarked.

The green alien raised a hand to massage his aching antennae. "I know," he grumbled. "How are things in the village? Has there been any trouble?"

"Not that I know of," Rabb said. The boy looked around, scanning the horizon. "No signals from the other villages, and it's been quiet here. Why do you ask?"

"Saw a couple of strangers at the border," Arion said, keeping his voice low to keep any curious ears from overhearing. "I turned them back, and I'm pretty sure they'll listen, but I wanted to make sure."

Rabb's eyes widened. "Strangers? Here? Were they dangerous? What were they like?"

Arion held up a hand to forestall more questions. "It doesn't matter," he said. "They're gone now. If they did come back, you'd know who they were right away. And, yes, they could be dangerous. They may not look like much, but they're strong."

"Stronger than _you_?"

"Hmph," Arion snorted in response, crossing his muscled emerald arms over his chest and closing his eyes. He hoped he looked confident instead of introspective. Truth was that he didn't know if he could've defeated the girl in a fight. He hadn't been able to sense much from her, but his instincts told him that she had been capable of much more power than she was showing.

 _And she knew about Namekians_ , he thought. _She's no ordinary human, that much is for sure._

Still, she had refused to fight to obtain the Dragon Ball. Either she was as unsure of who would prevail in their context as he himself was, or she was simply unwilling to shed blood for a trinket that – in her own words – she had no intention of using. If the former, Arion had a good chance to stop her if she changed her mind. If the latter, then he had nothing to fear from her.

But why was he still so worried?

There was something else going on. Something that went beyond his senses or his intellect. It was a feeling of watchfulness that had nothing to do with the girls he had stopped and everything to do with them. His eyes opened again. "Rabb, I need to speak with the chiefs. I'll start with your father. Can you find him?"

"He's probably with the elders, Gua-," the boy caught himself. "Arion."

"Good. Go now." Rabb nodded and rushed off. Arion watched the boy weave through the village of tents, disappearing around a corner in search of his father and chieftain. The Namekian almost smiled. The Karinga youth were as energetic as those anywhere else, but they were dutiful, and Rabb understood the concept of responsibility. He would have to if he were to succeed his father as village chief.

The sound of gasps and a brief scream cut into his musings. When Arion turned around, a giant was standing there, less than five feet away. He must've been at least seven feet tall, broad in the chest and shoulders, and wearing thick, crimson armor over torso and pelvis, a black body glove covering arms and legs. Some strange red decoration marked both palms. His head was bald and shone in the sun. There had been no warning of his approach, not a word, not a sound, and nothing but a void where his _ki_ should be. He might as well appeared from the earth or the sky. With a supreme effort of will, the green alien kept any emotion from his face, any fear. "Who are you and what do you want?" he asked.

"My designation is Five-Nine," the man said in a hollow, almost robotic voice. "You will give me the Dragon Ball."

 _Those girls!_ Arion thought. But even as the words formed in his mind, he knew that his suspicions were incorrect. They didn't seem the type to farm out their dirty work to others. This was something else, but the coincidence of two separate parties searching for the orb in one day was difficult to credit. Villagers were pausing in their daily tasks and peeking out of their tents as they noticed that something was going on.

He couldn't worry about that now. Arion sneered at the huge man. "I'll do no such thing."

Five-Nine's dark eyes flashed. "Correction: I will _take_ the Dragon Ball."

"You want to fight, big ugly?" Arion asked, throwing back his shoulders and beckoning to the giant. "Let's go somewhere where we can really let loose." _Come on, take the bait. We can't do this here, people could get hurt._

His opponent didn't even consider the offer, he simply took a huge step forward and swung a massive fist at the Namekian. He stepped to one side, but it was a close thing; Five-Nine was faster than he looked. But then so was Arion, and the attack provided a suitable opening. He took hold of the thick arm and used his leverage to lift the giant up – a task that was much harder than he though it would be, as if the man weighed far more than he should – and throw him bodily out of the village. Five-Nine's body arced into the distance.

With a flash of emerald energy, Arion followed, leaving behind the gasping and screaming villagers. Though he couldn't and wouldn't show it, he felt immense relief that this fight would not be taking place among the Karinga tents. His own life might still be in danger, but at least collateral damage could be kept to a minimum.

The giant smashed into the ground hundreds of feet away from the last of the tents, throwing up a cloud of dirt and debris, and Arion flew into that haze legs first, aiming a fierce kick at where the big man must have landed. His feet sank into the broken ground, but his target had already moved. _Damn!_

The Namekian tried to yank himself free of the dirt, not fast enough. A fist nearly the size of his head swung into his midsection. Arion's eyes bulged and his breath exploded outward in a huff. On the plus side, the impact did push him free of the ground to send him tumbling away into a copse of trees. Staggered, out of breath, and in pain, he leapt into the branches to conceal himself.

Just in time. The giant flickered into view beneath him a half-second later, turning his bald head back and forth to search for his target. Arion kept his energy as low as he could, trying to regain his breath without noise. Without looking, Five-Nine raised a hand and fired a blast of energy into a nearby tree, which exploded. He fired at another tree, which splintered and fell with a crash. Clearly, the stranger was intending to blast away any possible hiding place.

 _Time's up_ , Arion thought. He stretched his arm, using a variation on the trick he had used against the girl earlier that day, grabbing the big man's shoulder and using it as an anchor to yank himself forward and add power to his kick.

It was like hitting a mountain.

The giant barely moved, staggering back only slightly from the blow. Arion pushed off Five-Nine's chest with his feet and catapulted backwards. Raising his hands palm-out over his head, the Namekian gathered his _ki_. "Masenko!" he cried and threw his hands forward to let loose the orange beam of energy. It consumed the big man, who didn't even try to dodge or block. Dust and smoke and debris billowed into the air as the backwash of the blast burned the ground around Arion's target.

A brief surge of triumph warmed the green alien as he landed, but he tamped it down. Taking that attack head on without guarding should have put Five-Nine down for the count, but Arion knew better than to assume he had won. He wished he could sense his opponent's _ki_. Without that indicator and with the cloud of dust obscuring his vision, he couldn't tell what effect his Masenko had.

His instincts saved him again. Almost.

Arion raised an arm to block just as Five-Nine burst free of the cloud, trailing smoke and embers, armor scorched, his fist raised to strike the Namekian. The giant's hand hit the arm full force, and Arion felt his forearm crack and then snap off with the power of the blow. His eyes widened and he couldn't stop the scream of pain that clawed up from his lungs. He watched as his own arm spun off into the trees.

With an effort, Arion choked off the cry of pain, cradling his wounded arm against his stomach and staggering back. Five-Nine simply stared, expressionless, taking no satisfaction in what he had just done. "I will take the Dragon Ball now," he said in that flat, hollow voice.

"Never," the Namekian hissed. "They shouldn't be used, especially not by people like you. I won't allow them to fall into evil hands!"

"Your feelings are irrelevant. I will take the Dragon Ball now."

It was tempting fate and Arion knew it, but he said it anyway: "Over my dead body."

Five-Nine's eyes flashed again, like blinking lights. "Unnecessary," he said. The giant dashed forward before Arion could react and raised a knee into the Namekian's stomach. When the alien folded around the blow, Five-Nine jammed his elbow into his opponent's head. There was a burst of pain, a flash of light, and then...

Nothing.

* * *

"Do you feel that?" Cana asked, staring back the way they had come. The two companions hadn't gone far, the Saiyan unsure how to proceed now that at least one of the Dragon Balls was out of her reach, and they were still near the borders of the Karinga lands. If the question of the orbs hadn't been on her mind, she might have enjoyed this brief break amid the hazy, sacred-seeming woods and fields, but she was too distracted to pay much attention.

Uru on the other hand skipped along in front of her, ooh-ing and ahh-ing over every interesting tree and animal. The Majin already seemed to have befriended several birds and a fox, as carefree and cheerful as ever. Cana envied her. The girl stood up from where she was kneeling in front of a patch of flowers and looked off in the same direction as her older friend was. "I don't think so," Uru said. "What is it?"

"That Namekian we met earlier, Arion... I thought I felt his energy." Cana paused. "I think he's fighting someone."

The Saiyan was still too new at sensing _ki_ to interpret the play of energy that she could feel in the distance, the rising and the falling, the ebb and the flow. One thing she could tell, however, was that Arion's power was the only one she could feel. If he was fighting, then he was fighting nothing. Was it some kind of training? She stared sightlessly back into the distance, Uru watching her without speaking.

There was a sudden dip in the power she felt and she gasped in response. _That can't be good_. A moment later, Arion's _ki_ disappeared. Red eyes widened and Cana scanned in vain across the horizon for some hint of the Namekian's energy, but there was nothing. A chill ran through the Saiyan, though sweat broke out on forehead and back. Something was _very_ wrong.

She turned back to the Majin girl. "Let's go. Quick now."

Uru didn't argue. She rose to her feet and glanced back the way they had come. "Something happened to the green guy," she said. "He's not there anymore."

Cana shot her young friend a look. "When did you learn to sense _ki_?"

"I don't know what you mean," Uru said. "I just tried doing what you were doing."

 _How can she learn such complicated skills just with mimicry?_ Cana wondered. She shook her head. _No time to worry about that right now_. Without another word, she bounded forward, knowing that Uru would follow her. The Saiyan didn't even know what she was so afraid of, but the stillness and silence which had previously seemed so comforting was now forbidding. They rushed on, their speed hampered by stands of trees and thick grasses and rolling hills, and the Karinga lands with their impossible tall tower receded far too slow for Cana's taste.

It was during one of her many glances backwards that she saw a flock of birds flying in terror from the treetops far behind them. _A predator? Or..._ If something was chasing them, Cana couldn't feel it, and that made the situation much worse, much more frightening. She could tell that her emotional state was affecting Uru, but it was too late to reassure the girl.

" _Would you rather run than face your fear?"_

She remembered those words from when Master Tien had challenged her, had called her out on being a Saiyan. Running was what she had been doing for years. It had kept her safe, it had brought her to Earth, where she had met her best friend and lived in peace, but it had also eaten away at her physical and emotional well-being. Cana didn't _want_ to run. Not anymore.

The older girl slowed to a halt, turning to face the way they had come, hearing Uru do the same behind her. "No, Uru," she said. "Keep going. I'll catch up to you in a bit."

"What? Cana, no, come on, let's go!"

"Just do as I say!" Cana said firmly, shooting the young Majin a glare. The pink girl gave a hesitant nod and started to scramble away.

Too late. A huge, imposing figure flickered into view and braked to a halt in mid-air. "My designation is Five-Nine," the crimson-armored man said in a hollow, echoing voice that reminded Cana of the service robots at Capsule Corp. "You will give me the Dragon Balls. Do not resist." He tossed something toward the Saiyan. It was a green forearm. Arion's forearm.

The blood drained from Cana's face, but she felt anger burn through her. "He was an honorable man," she ground out. "What did you do to him?"

"He would not give me the Dragon Ball. I was forced to take it. Do not make the same mistake."

Cana gave a harsh laugh. "Sorry, but you'll have to work for it. You want to play, let's play." She raised her fists and bent her knees in a brawler's posture.

The bald giant's dark eyes flashed. "As you wish." He charged, fist extended. The Saiyan twisted away, surprised by the big man's speed. But Cana had just finished training with the Turtle Hermit and she was quick, too, continuing her movement to slip behind Five-Nine and then leapt up to swing a booted foot into the giant's head.

An attack like that – with Cana's strength behind it – should have sent Five-Nine pinwheeling through the waist-high grass. What it actually did was make the giant stagger slightly. In response, Five-Nine's arm arced back to knock the spiky-haired girl away and Cana pushed off the limb and used its motion to propel herself back, opening up some space between herself and Five-Nine.

"You cannot win," the giant said. "Surrender the Dragon Balls and I will allow you to walk away."

"I hit, you missed. From where I'm standing, looks like I have the advantage."

Five-Nine raised an arm without speaking and – with a burst of flame – his forearm detached and the fist shot forward. Cana was caught by surprise and the rocket-powered fist caught her in the chest, sending her flying back to land on her back a dozen feet away under the surface of the rippling green ocean of grass.

Stars wheeled above her eyes and Cana fought to catch her breath, her chest throbbing with pain. Never before had she so wished to have her Saiyan battle suit. _He's not a human, he's some kind of... android,_ she thought. The sound and vibration of pounding feet warned her that the giant – the robot – was coming to finish her off. Ignoring the agony in her chest, she bent her knees and brought her feet back. Just in time. Five-Nine appeared above her and Cana kicked up at the robotic being, putting all the power she could muster behind the attack.

It went somewhat better this time, knocking the giant back a few feet and giving the Saiyan enough time to roll away and regain her feet. Once again, the android was right there, lashing out with fists and feet. Cana ducked and weaved rather than blocked, knowing that the strength of the big man was such that a block would barely diminish the force of a blow. She managed to get in a few more shots to face and stomach and kidneys, but they had no noticeable effect.

 _He must have a weakness_ , she thought, desperate. There was a chance, but she needed some space. The Saiyan let one of the big man's attacks graze her, even the glancing impact bruising and pushing her back, but she exaggerated her own weakness, flying back even farther than she would have, climbing to her feet slower, holding a hand against her ribs.

For a moment, the two adversaries stood there, staring at each other. Five-Nine seemed unaffected by the battle, but Cana gulped in air, hunched over in pain and weariness.

"Okay," she said slowly. "Maybe you have a point. If I give up the Dragon Balls, will you let us go?"

"I have no reason to kill you if you surrender them."

Cana straightened painfully, raising her hands in a gesture of surrender. "All right... all right. Just a minute." With slow, deliberate movements, she shrugged off her travel bag and lifted it in one hand before her. "The balls are in here." A smirk formed on her face and she drew her arm back to throw the bag far off into the woods to one side. "Go get it."

The android's eyes followed the bag as it flew away. "Foolish, but pointless. I will retrieve them." His gaze swiveled back to Cana, who had lowered her stance, hands cupped in front of her. Her smirk had turned into a fierce grin.

"Kame... hame..." Her hands drew back, an azure orb of energy swirling between her palms, then shot forward. "HA!" The Kamehameha roared forward, and Five-Nine only had time to blink before the energy wave consumed him, burning the grass in a wide cone from where the Saiyan stood. The wave dissipated gradually, revealing scorched earth and the still-standing figure of the android.

But Five-Nine had seen better days. Part of his head was gone, and half the skin of his face, revealing wires and circuit boards and pieces of metallic skull. The edges of his red armor had softened and melted from the heat of the Kamehameha. Sparks buzzed and leapt from the exposed electronics on his cranium.

"Impressive," the giant said, his voice skipping and droning like a bad audio file. "You are much stronger than I calculated."

Cana swayed where she stood, but forced herself to stand upright and conceal her weakness. "Yeah, well you're the one who came after me," she said. "You can go ahead and fall down now."

Five-Nine shook his damaged head. "This... is not... over yet."

"Leave her alone!" a young voice called from one said. Uru jumped out of the bushes, hands raised in a fighting stance identical to the one Cana had used.

 _Oh, no_ , Cana thought. "I told you to get out of here!" she cried to her Majin friend.

Uru shook her head. "I want to help you, Cana. We can finish him together."

But the girl's appearance had distracted the Saiyan just long enough. Five-Nine raised his arm and fired his rocket fist again, but this time it wasn't aimed at Cana, it flew towards Uru, who gaped and raised her arms in futile defense against the missile. The older girl turned to the Majin, raising a hand as if she could stop the attack by sheer force of will. The fist struck and Uru cried out, soaring backwards from the force of the blow.

"Uru!" Cana shouted and dashed towards her fallen friend, passing the independent limb as it flew past her on the way to returning to the android, turning her back on Five-Nine. She didn't care about the Dragon Balls, she had to make sure the Majin was okay. Five-Nine didn't go for her travel bag as expected. Instead he charged up behind the Saiyan and grabbed her upper arms, holding her back with an inescapable, vice-like grip. "Let me go!" Cana screamed.

The android didn't answer, but he did speak. "Damage to primary power core... energy leakage detected... obtaining necessary energy from nearest source."

Five-Nine's grip tightened even more and the red circles on his palms grew warm. Cana struggled to free herself, but something was wrong... _very_ wrong. Her strength fled, drained from her body. It was not painless and she screamed until her breath gave out and her body went limp. She felt empty and hollowed out and Cana knew that she was in serious trouble.

Consciousness drifted away, but she remained aware long enough to feel the android toss her aside and see him fly off in the direction she had thrown the Dragon Balls. Cana didn't care, she had to get to Uru. But her body wouldn't respond, wouldn't even allow her to drag herself to her friend's side. _Dammit,_ she thought. _Dammit, I've got to... got to..._

Her vision blurred, wavered, and went black.


	15. Chapter 15

_Oh, no... oh no oh no oh no_.

Uru staggered to her feet, her pink, bubble-gum-esque body aching from the strange man's fist, which had somehow detached and flown at her to punch her with superhuman force. Tears leaked from her eyes, but they had nothing to do with the pain. From where the Majin had lain prone trying to catch her breath, she had heard Cana's scream, a cry of anguish that struck Uru harder than anything the giant could have done.

 _And it's my fault_ , she thought. All she had wanted to do was help, to show her Saiyan friend how strong she was and actually be able to work with her and fight at her side. Instead her appearance had distracted Cana at a critical moment and gotten them both injured. _Just injured, right? I'll be okay, and so will she_.

With increasing desperation, Uru pushed aside the grass that sometimes grew taller than she was, searching for her friend, relieved that the giant was nowhere in sight but afraid for the older girl. _Where is she?!_ The Majin couldn't feel her at all, but she hadn't felt anything from Five-Nine either, so maybe she had just copied the skill to sense energy imperfectly. _Or maybe not_. _Maybe there's nothing to feel._

 _No!_

She was almost frantic when she finally found Cana's crumpled form lying in the long grass. The older girl was still – eyes closed and skin pale – and didn't react when Uru knelt and shook her. "Cana...?" the Majin asked, lower lip trembling. "Wake up... please, wake up." _This can't be happening! Don't let this be happening! I can't be alone again!_ Uru shook her friend harder, desperate for a response.

A pained groan, barely audible, came from deep in the Saiyan's throat, but the older girl didn't awaken. Waves or relief rolled through Uru despite that. Cana was alive. The Majin hadn't been responsible for her death. The solace was short-lived. Cana was breathing, but she was hurt and hurt badly, and Uru had no idea what to do. She had no medical knowledge, no way to heal the other girl, and no idea where to find help.

"Maybe she'll feel better soon," she said to herself.

 _And what if she doesn't?_ A voice answered in her head; an old companion, one she hadn't heard from since she had left the forest.

Her lips trembled again. "I don't know... I don't know what to do."

 _Will you just sit here and feel sorry for yourself?_

Uru shook her head and wiped her arms across her face, wiping up her tears. "No, I'll help her. I've done nothing but hold her back since we met. I'll find a way to make it right."

 _Or make it worse_ , the voice responded in a nasty tone. _You're a Majin. You're dangerous. You hurt people. Look what you've already done to her. This is why we hid, Uru. This is why we stayed away from others._

"I didn't want to be alone anymore," the pink girl whispered.

 _And look what happened._

Her little fists clenched. "Shut up! I'll save her. I'll show you that we're not cursed." Uru didn't wait for a response from the voice, climbing to her feet and gingerly lifting Cana in both arms. The Majin was strong after training with Master Sheru and the weight wasn't the problem, but the other girl was bigger than Uru and awkward to hold and the girl had to settle on a "fireman's carry", draping the Saiyan over her narrow shoulders which left Cana's hands and feet dragging across the ground. Unfortunately, there wasn't much she could do about it. What was worse was how the motion elicited more faint whimpers of pain from her friend.

With nowhere else to go and no concept of geography, Uru did the only thing she could and started walking back to the Karinga lands. She remembered the curls of smoke from around the area of the tall tower that they had seen and guessed that it was inhabited. Maybe someone there would be able to help Cana.

She sniffled. _Maybe_.

The going was slow. If she went too fast, the jostling seemed to exacerbate the pain that Cana was in, and Uru was forced down to a plodding walk which only made her friend seem heavier. The afternoon wore away, the sun sliding down the sky in front of her. She fought back panic. This was taking too long. The village was too far and it wasn't even a guarantee that someone would be able to heal Cana there.

"I'll save her," she said to herself again, pausing to angrily wipe tears from her eyes.

As her vision cleared, the Majin froze. There was a silhouette in front of her, a dark shadow in front of the sun as it dropped to the horizon. It seemed huge, seeming to grow even larger as it approached, and the one detail Uru could make out for sure was a bald head. She shivered. Was it Five-Nine? Had he come back to finish them off? What could she do to stop him?

Uru's knees shook, but she couldn't seem to make herself move. She was too tired, too afraid, too overwhelmed. With an effort, the pink girl stilled herself, gathering her courage. Cana was injured and helpless. It was up to her to protect her friend.

"Stop right there!" she called. "Don't come any closer!"

To her surprise, the figure listened, halting where it stood. "I'm looking for the giant," a familiar voice answered. "I'm not interested in either of you." It was Arion. He started forward again, and the silhouette – perhaps enlarged by Uru's own fears – took on the outline of the Namekian, with its upward curling antennae and pointed ears. One thing was different: Half of his left arm was missing.

"I'm guessing you know who I'm talking about," he continued as he approached, stepping near enough that he changed from a shadow to the green-skinned figure Uru had met earlier that day. "Is your friend...?"

"No!" Uru said hotly. "Cana's hurt, but she's not dead. I've got to find someone to help her." She paused, staring up at Arion with watery eyes. "Can you do anything for her?"

The Namekian shook his head. "I'm not a healer," he said. "Not like..." He set his jaw. "And I have no time. Five-Nine took the Dragon Ball, and it looks like he got yours, as well. How many did you have?" Uru considered for a moment before holding up three fingers, and Arion hissed through his teeth. "Damn! They have over half the balls."

Uru stepped closer. "Who cares about that? Cana's in trouble. We've got to help her!"

"I already told you, kid, I can't do anything for her."

"Then take me to someone who can!" the Majin insisted.

Arion grit his teeth. "There's no time! Don't you understand? The Dragon Balls have been stolen! If they've fallen into the wrong hands, or even the right ones, we could _all_ be in danger."

Uru's fury was the match of the Namekian's own. Wisps of steam rose from the small holes in her head and arms, the visual indicator of her increasing anger and body heat. She swallowed her emotions, knowing they wouldn't help Cana. "Please," she said instead; a quiet, heartfelt plea. "Please help us."

A long sigh was Arion's only response for a long moment. "Put her down," he said at last. "Let me see her injury." Uru complied, laying Cana on the grass as gently as she could. Arion knelt and looked at the older girl, a puzzled frown on his face. He put one emerald hand on Cana's forehead, closing his dark eyes. "She's not wounded," he said. "But her life energy is dangerously low. I can barely sense any _ki_."

"Will she get better?" Uru asked in a shaky voice.

"I don't know," Arion admitted. "I've never felt anything like this before."

"What can we do?"

The Namekian bared his teeth and looked back the way he had come to where the impossibly tall tower was a dark line against the late afternoon sun. "There is one thing," he said. "But it won't be easy." He stood and looked down at the still figure of the older girl. "I'll carry her."

Uru pursed her lips. "But what about your...?" she indicated the green man's lost limb.

A grim smile formed on Arion's face. "Don't you worry about that." He snarled, an expression that looked like the prelude to an attack, veins popping out from his hairless scalp. The Majin recoiled in fear as Arion growled and flinched when it turned into a roar.

With a disturbing, wet noise, a new forearm and hand emerged from the ragged hole at the end of the Namekian's truncated limb. The restored arm dripped green slime and glistened wetly as Arion shook it dry. He grimaced, flexing the hand experimentally. "I forgot how much that takes out of me."

The pink-skinned girl could only stare. "Wow," she breathed.

Arion chuckled as he knelt to pick up Cana. "Okay, let's get going..." he glanced at her. "What's your name?"

"It's Uru."

"Okay, Uru. I haven't recovered enough to fly, so we'll have to go on foot. I can take Cana somewhere where she'll be safe and show you how to help your friend, but you'll have to do the legwork. Can you handle that?"

Uru looked up with determined eyes at Arion as he straightened, Cana cradled in his arms. "I'll do whatever it takes," she said.

* * *

Arion looked up, not even bothering to hide his impatience as the elder brushed aside the flap of the tent where Cana now rested. He had taken the spiky-haired girl back to the Karinga village where she could be kept in relative safety, though it was against his better judgment. Every cell in his body ached to be hunting down Five-Nine and reclaim the Dragon Balls. He needed to assuage the guilt he felt over his failure, but he couldn't have just left the Majin and her friend without trying to help them.

That didn't make him feel any less annoyed about the delay. "Well, Hika?" he asked.

"I'm afraid she still hasn't awoken," the older man said. He was deeply tanned and stooped with age, a mane of gray hair billowing from his head, but still cut a vital figure. "It is as if her very life has been drained out of her, leaving only barely enough to maintain her body."

Arion nodded, the old man's words confirming his own guess. "And will she recover?"

Hika's shoulder's hunched in a brief shrug. "I cannot say. Under normal circumstances, her life force would replenish over time, but she may not even have the energy to heal herself."

"What can we do?" Uru asked from where she stood nearby, surrounded by curious Karinga children, too concerned for her friend to notice the attention.

"We have medicine here," Hika said, throwing a glance at the green-skinned warrior, whose arms were crossed over his chest. "I don't hold out much hope for it, however. There _is_ something that can be done to help the girl... Arion knows more about it than I do."

He had been hoping not to have to take yet another detour, but Arion hadn't counted on it. "That's right," he confirmed. "I know where you can get much stronger medicine. It won't be easy, but it's the only way."

"Just tell me where to go," Uru said firmly.

The Majin girl's determination was admirable, and Arion felt his lip curl in a faint smile. "I'll bring you there," he said. "Take care of Cana while we're gone, Hika." The old man nodded.

"I'll do what I can for her."

Arion uncrossed his arms and strode away from the tent, gesturing for Uru to follow him. The pink girl did so without complaint or question. The two ignored the villagers who stared at them, walking away from the cluster of tents and out into the core of the Karinga lands. Neither of them spoke, lost in their individual thoughts. The Namekian was still brooding about the lost Dragon Balls, and he was sure that Uru was concerned about her friend.

Evening had faded into night before they reached their destination, a clearing at the very base of the tower stretching high into the star-pricked heavens above them. The tower was made of some off-white stone or wood, carved with various patterns and symbols as far as they could see. Wind and weather had worn the material, blurring the carvings but not erasing them.

"What is it?" Uru asked in a hushed voice.

"This... is Korin's Tower," Arion said. "It's been here for years beyond count and is the reason the Karinga have settled here. They watch over the tower." He turned to give the Majin girl a serious look. "I will allow you to climb it."

The pink-skinned girl's eyes widened as they traced the dark line of the structure. "Climb this?!"

"It's the only way. You said you would do whatever it takes, didn't you? If you want the medicine to heal your friend, you have to go up." Arion turned away. "And you'll have to do it alone."

"What about you?"

"I've already taken too much time helping you and Cana. I have to go after Five-Nine."

Uru glanced at the ground then looked back up at the Namekian. "I understand," she said. "Thank you for your help, and good luck."

Arion spared the girl a smile. "Same to you." Without looking back, he dashed away on what was certainly a futile mission. It didn't matter. If there was even a trail, it had long gone cold, but he had to try. Otherwise he'd never hear the end of it.

* * *

It started well enough. Uru's training with Master Sheru had given her strength and endurance, and she was able to make good progress. The carvings on the impossible tower formed decent handholds for her powerful grip, allowing her to climb steadily upward. The darkness made it hard for her to mark her progress, but it also hid the ground beneath her.

Increasingly far beneath her.

The cool night air grew colder as the Majin ascended. She wished that she had put on some warmer clothes before starting, but there was nothing she could do about now. She couldn't even rub her hands together to warm them. Uru grit her teeth and pushed on. Cana was counting on her. The thought of the Saiyan girl lying sick and helpless in the Karinga village drove her forward through the night, endlessly climbing as if trying to reach the glowing stars above her.

Those stars faded and vanished as the sky lightened. Dawn came chill and bright, allowing the pink-skinned girl to see just how far she had climbed. Faint and distant, hazy in the morning light, she saw the world stretched beneath her. She was high enough that she could see the curve of the horizon, and the entirety of the Karinga country and the lands around it were visible.

It was both frightening and breathtakingly beautiful. Uru had seen a lot of the world in her travels with Cana, but never from this perspective, and it was apparent from this new vantage point just how vast the Earth was. Despite her exhaustion and concern, a smile spread across the little girl's face. "Wow," she breathed. "I wish you were to see this, Cana."

The thought galvanized her and she began climbing again with re-doubled effort.

Unfortunately, even as she turned her attention back to the climb, she realized that – in the light of day – she still couldn't see the top of the tower. What's worse, her stomach growled loudly and the Majin remembered she hadn't eaten since early the previous day. A wave of weakness made her tremble, her right hand slipping from where it had grabbed another of the countless ledges that striped the structure.

For a moment, she dangled there, wide eyes fixed on the ground far below, no longer seeing the beauty but the peril in her situation. The fingers of her left hand ached and cramped in their tenuous hold. Finally, Uru managed to swing her body back against the tower, groping blindly with her free hand until she found another hold. She rested for a minute, regaining her breath, shoving her fear back into the dark recesses of her mind.

"The longer it takes me to move," she muttered, "the longer it will to finish." She couldn't afford to rest. There was no way for her to eat and recover her strength here, and she didn't trust herself to try and sleep clinging to one of the ledges. "Keep going," she commanded herself.

And she did, ascending the narrow structure like an insect. The sun rose and set as she went higher and higher, the air growing chill and thin, and still she didn't see the top. Despair had come and gone with the sun. Now Uru's mind was blank, fixed on one single purpose, no room for thoughts of hunger or weariness or even Cana. All her mind was bent on climbing, forever climbing.

It was full night again when the Majin reached up and felt her hand bump up against something unexpected. It didn't sink in at first, and the pink girl reached around with her hand in confusion, wondering where the next ledge was. There was always another ledge. How could there _not_ be a ledge? At last she caught on to what it meant. She looked up and saw a black shadow blocking the arc of stars which had been her only companions for the last several hours.

She had made it to the top. Uru felt dizzy and faint and even now, at the very end, she felt her strength giving out. "Not yet," she gasped. "I can't stop yet." It was difficult to tell in the darkness, but she saw a circle of dim light above and behind her. She almost fell crossing the gap, but the Majin managed to grab the edge of the circle and pull herself into the spherical structure at the top of Korin's Tower.

For several long minutes Uru simply lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling above her, regaining her breath and her strength. Everything hurt. She hadn't felt this kind of utter exhaustion since her first days training with Master Sheru. Feeling as old as the Turtle Hermit, the pink girl got to her feet, swaying in place as she stood and examined the chamber she had reached.

It was hard to see anything in the dim light, but her eyes had adjusted enough that she could make out several unexpected objects. A bed... a tub... several pots against one wall. Was the medicine in one of those? With staggering steps, she moved to the pots and opened the one on the left.

Faintly glowing water filled the pot almost to the brim. Uru could see her reflection in the still water, noting the lines of worry and weariness around her eyes. The water rippled and the reflection faded to be replaced by something else.

" _Another bad crop. This is the third year in a row." The speaker was a middle-aged man, toughened with years of working outside in his fields. His clothes were rough and patched, a perfect match for the man himself._

Uru blinked. She knew this man.

" _The village can't survive if this keeps up," an old woman said. "We don't have the money to keep buying food from outside. What are we going to do?"_

The scene came into focus. It was the biggest building in the village where Uru had lived as a child, cleared of almost all furniture and filled with people. The Majin remembered this. It had been a town meeting. There was a food crisis, and the people had gathered to discuss what could be done.

 _The first man's jaw was set. "What_ can _we do? We'll be hungry this winter. We'll be dying next winter. Unless we stop playing around and get rid of this curse on our home!"_

 _A bearded elder shook his head. "We have no evidence that the girl has done anything."_

Uru saw her younger self peeking out from behind a wood pillar, watching the proceedings with wide, black eyes.

" _Oh, so it's just a coincidence that our fields have gone fallow since she's come here?" The first man said. "She's a Majin. That's enough. Even if she's not responsible, she eats enough for any_ five _of us." Voices rose in agreement, very few in dissent._

" _Send her away! Get rid of her!"_

The vision faded into blackness. Uru blinked away tears and frowned, reaching into the pot to feel... nothing. The water was gone. "Why did I see that? Why did I remember that?" She shivered. It was a memory she had tried to bury, a pain she had kept deep inside. The villagers had held her responsible for their bad crops, had blamed her simply because she was different, and kicked her out of town to fend for herself. Alone.

Until Cana had come.

Uru shook her head, putting her memories in the past where they belonged. Right now she had to focus on her mission. She moved to the next pot and removed the lid. This one, too, was filled with glowing water. It rippled once, erasing the Majin girl's reflection.

 _Cana lay pale and sweating on the bedroll she had been placed upon a day and a half earlier, moaning softly in her restless sleep, the tent lit by a single, flickering candle. The broad form of Hika leaned over the Saiyan girl, dribbling some water between her parted lips. A boy of about ten sat nearby, watching with worry in his expression._

" _How is she?" the boy asked._

 _Hika shook his aged head in answer. "Nothing is working. Her only hope now is that her friend returns with the medicine."_

Uru blinked the vision away. Judging by how dark it had looked, what she had seen could have been happening now. "Oh, Cana," she whispered. "Please hold on."

To her complete lack of surprise, the pink girl found that the last pot also had the glowing water. No discrete vision appeared to her, however, only vague images: Two figures. A ruined city. A bright light.

This time she got angry. "This is a waste of time," she growled.

"Well then stop playing around and come up here, girl," a scratchy voice answered from above, making Uru jump in shock.

"Hello?" she called hesitantly.

"Yes, yes, hello," the voice answered, sounding irritated. "It's pretty inconvenient to talk to you through the ceiling, so get out here." Uru looked around until she spotted a small exit and gingerly crept through it and up the nearby stairs to a kind of porch or patio above the living chambers she had been in. The area was almost bare, with only a decorative fountain of trickling water at the exact center. Stone pillars and a rail lined the outer edge of the circular platform. Above her was another stone ceiling. There was no sign of the person who had called out to her.

"Where are you?" she asked into the darkness.

The voice was amused, but scornful. "Open your eyes, kid. I'm right here."

Uru tilted her head at the figure that she finally spotted near the fountain. It was a small, corpulent, bipedal cat with white fur and carrying a staff twice its own height. The feline was even shorter than the Majin girl. "Um..." she said, at a loss for words. "Nice to meet you, kitty."

Her attempt at politeness failed miserably. "'Kitty'?" the cat asked. "I'm Master Korin. This is my lookout." He harrumphed.

"I-I'm sorry," Uru stuttered. "I didn't mean to make you mad." She paused. "Wait... you're Korin? The Korin this tower is named after?"

"That's what I said, isn't it?"

"I just didn't expect-" the Majin began.

Korin turned his back on the girl and walked to the edge of the platform, looking through the railing. "Things aren't always the way you expect them to be," he said. "Take you for example. I think anyone who judged you by your appearance would be making a big mistake."

"Uh..."

"That didn't call for a response, kid," Korin said, turning back to face her. "It's been a long time since anyone climbed this tower, but you did pretty well. Of course, Majin like you have a lot of natural potential, and you've been trained. I can tell by the way you move. Let me guess... the Turtle Hermit?"

Uru nodded. "Yes, sir."

The cat man considered her with his squinted eyes. "Not too bad. He hasn't reached Roshi's level, but he's done a fine job with you." He stepped closer and tapped the Majin on the shoulder with his staff. "Now, tell me what you're here for."

"There's medicine here that I need," Uru said.

Korin laughed. "Does this look like a pharmacy, kid? I don't have any 'medicine'."

"What...?" Uru asked, her face falling. _This can't be... I can't have climbed all this way for nothing!_ "But the Karinga told me... and Arion, too!"

"Sorry, kid," Korin said, shaking his head. "They told you wrong."

The Majin took a deep breath, fighting back tears. "Do... do you have anything that might help? My friend could die, and I don't know what to do to help her."

"Hmm..." the old cat circled the pink-skinned girl, staring at her. "I see," he muttered to himself. Then, louder, "So your friend got her energy drained by that nasty android. Bad business. No wonder she's in danger."

Uru jerked like she had touched a live wire. "How did you know that?" she asked.

"I. Read. Minds," Korin said. Then he laughed, as if enjoying a private joke. "I like you, kid. You remind me of a friend of mine from a long time ago." He produced a small brown bag from somewhere on his person. "As it turns out, I do have something that might help Cana."

"Can I have it?"

The cat gave a snaggle-toothed smile. "Of course, just come on over and take it."

His expression had warned Uru that something was up, but she was still annoyed and surprised when he yanked his hand back just as she had been about to take the bag. She reached forward again, and – again – he pulled back. "This isn't funny!" the Majin cried, leaping forward to grab the sack from Korin, but he had already jumped aside.

"Are you sure?" Korin asked. "It's a little bit funny to me." He hooked the drawstring of the bag over the hammer-headed end of his staff. "You can have what's in here as soon as you can take it from me."

Uru grit her teeth and charged, her weariness from earlier forgotten. She had been trained by Master Sheru; intense, repetitive, continuous training with a heavy weight strapped to her back. When she had shed that purple turtle shell, she had felt as if she could float away, like she could run as fast as the wind. There was no way this little old feline could be faster than she was.

And yet she couldn't catch him. Over and over she thought she had managed to grab Korin, the staff, or the bag, but every time, her hands were empty. The sky was beginning to glow far in the east and still she had not managed to obtain her prize. "Please," she begged at one point. "Cana needs me!"

"Then you have to take the bag," he said. "You're not using your brain, kid. You're reacting to me instead of making me react to you. You can't get through life without thinking. Remember how your friend got hurt."

Uru stopped in mid-motion, her shoulders slumping. Korin was right. She had charged into the middle of Cana and Five-Nine's battle without thinking of the consequences, and the Saiyan had been hurt because of it.

 _Because of you_ , the treacherous voice in her head reminded her. "Never again," she swore out loud.

Korin seemed to understand. "Then you know what you need to do."

Red eyes closed. _I've got to be smarter_ , she thought. _I can't always count on Cana to save me or protect me, because sometimes I've got to be the one to protect her, and I can't do that if I just run in head-first._ She needed strategy. In her mind, the Majin ran through all her options, all the different things she had learned and seen throughout her journey. Her eyes snapped open. _That could work!_

She had never tried anything like this before, but she knew her own body, knew what it was capable of, and – with a proper example – she could do a lot of things. "Okay," she said out loud. "Here I come!" Uru dashed forward again as if to repeat her earlier attempts, but this time – when Korin leapt back – Uru _stretched_ her arms the way she had seen Arion do the other day to grab Cana. It was a close thing, but the Majin just managed the snag the sack and reel it back in along with her arms.

"I did it!" she exulted, leaping into the air excitedly.

Korin laughed, but he seemed a little bit embarrassed. "I'm getting too old for this," he said. "Time was it would've taken you three days and a second climb up the tower before you were fast enough to catch me, but you did what I said. You used your mind."

Uru's smile faded. She hefted the bag, which seemed to be partly full of small objects. _Candy?_ She thought hopefully. "It was what I needed to hear, sir," she said.

"Heh... I like you, kid. You've got a good heart." He seemed to consider a moment, then tapped his staff on the ground. "Right! Gift time." He walked over to the fountain and reached into the water. Uru was shocked when the cat turned around with a Dragon Ball clutched in one paw. "I think you were looking for these."

The Majin could only gape at the orange orb, which Korin placed in her other hand. Six darker stars rested at the center of the ball. "Oh, wow..." she breathed. "I never would have guessed I would find this up here. Thank you!"

Korin lifted his other paw to forestall her gratitude. "One more thing." He gave another crooked cat smile. "You're going to like this." He turned to face out over the edge of the lookout, cupping one paw to his mouth. "Nimbus!"

"What the...?" Uru stared open-mouthed at the object that floated slowly into view, then grinned as Korin explained what she was seeing.

Things were starting to look up.


	16. Chapter 16

_**AND THEN...**_

Cana floated, feeling weightless in the thick, sluggish flow of the medical machine. Blue light filtered in through the round porthole that served as a window in the sterile white metal which formed the pod. A black breathing mask covered her face, and flexible sensors were affixed to her temples.

 _I've been here before... I open my eyes and Letta's waiting for me. She orders me to come with her and Lenti to Grayne. They destroy... everything. I kill the survivor, and then Letta..._

A door slammed shut in her mind, blocking off those final memories, but that only brought her mind back to medical machine. From there, her thoughts ran over the events of that day, over and over, faster and faster, flickering by like a film set at high speed. Her attempts at pulling her mind free from the loop of memories were futile.

She realized she was feverish, delirious, thrashing in the sapphire liquid. Every movement brought pain, and she sucked in air through the breathing mask she wore. Her memories shifted like sand, putting a new, frightening spin on the familiar images.

 _Letta is in her giant Oozaru form when Cana leaves the medical machine, leering down at her from fifty feet up. Cana is forced to ride with the monstrous Saiyan in a super-sized space pod, naked and chained and helpless. When they reach Grayne, Letta makes the younger girl look at the moon, makes her transform as well and take an active part in destroying the planet against her will. Although she's filled with loathing, she can't help but feel a dark glee in her actions as she demolishes cities and people alike._

 _But when Cana looks at herself, she sees that she's not an Oozaru, but she's glowing with golden light and filled with incredible strength. The satisfaction and pleasure of destruction remain with her, however, and she laughs. When the surviving lizard-man leaps out, she doesn't hesitate, blasting a hole in the alien's chest and grinning with glee. Letta – back in her normal shape – embraces her from behind, hands moving possessively over the younger Saiyan's body, sharing in her power and her victory._

 _Even as Cana looks down at her defeated enemy, it transforms into Chard. Her captain, her mentor, her father figure. His dead eyes stare at her accusingly._

Red eyes snapped open and Cana screamed. Even through the healing fluid, she could hear her own voice, but she couldn't seem to stop herself. She screamed until her throat was hoarse and raw. Faintly, through the storm of bubbles her struggling form caused in her liquid prison, she saw a dark silhouette.

 _No! Not again!_

The medical machine drained and the door hissed open. Cana's intent had been to charge straight out of the pod to attack the figure, but she was weak, breathless, and wracked with pain. She stumbled across the threshold of the machine and slammed into the cold floor, igniting even more fiery spots of agony through her body. She tried to cry out, but her voice was all but gone from her screams, and the attempt only made her cough and gasp and choke.

Hands pulled at her, steadying her, supporting her, and she was too weak to fight them off. She heard words, but she was too agitated and unsteady to make sense of them. At last, she could only cringe, hiding her face from whoever had grabbed her, curled into a ball.

It might have been seconds or hours later when the world finally began to make sense again.

"Come on, Cana," a familiar voice said. "You've got to stick with me here."

 _That's not Lenti or Letta... and it can't be Chard._ "Sohko?" she asked through her dry, aching throat. She unfolded her lean body – noticing at last that she still wore the shredded rags of her battle armor – and looked up at the figure supporting her.

Sure enough, it was the short-haired, pale-skinned technician, looking down at her with an expression of concern. "Hey!" he said, surprised. "You're finally back with us."

Cana blinked. "'Us'?" she repeated.

The technician's face fell. "Well... it's just me, actually. The others are..." he trailed off.

"Where are we?" the young warrior asked, coughing as she finished the question.

"Remember that PTO ship Chard sent me and the twins to check out? We're in its medical bay. I managed to get enough of the equipment working to put you into the medical machine, and a good thing, too. I don't think the Essertians have anything that would have fixed you up." Sohko hesitated. "You were in pretty bad shape."

Cana lurched in the other Saiyan's grip. "What about Letta and Lenti?" she asked in a panic. "Where are they?"

Sohko shook his head. "I don't know. Two of the pods were missing from where I found you. They must have taken them and left. What happened out there?"

The girl didn't answer, her eyes unfocused, staring past Sohko. The feelings were there, the emotions, but she couldn't quite recall what she had done or what had happened to her. She remembered the twins' arrival and Chard's death, but everything after that was just a blur of images. All Cana knew was that she had attempted to fight the two traitors and lost.

It was a miracle she wasn't dead.

"How long?" she rasped.

"Five days," Sohko said with a wince.

Cana lurched up into a sitting position, fighting past the pain and the nausea she felt, pushing aside Sohko's hands as he tried to pull her back down. "The peacekeepers..."

"Hey, hold on!" Sohko said, still trying to hold her in place. "They already know, they're sending a team to investigate and follow the others. Should be here in another day or two."

 _Dammit!_ Cana thought. If only she had been able to stop Sohko from contacting their superiors, but she had been at death's door. Besides, how could she have explained to him that she herself was now wanted by the peacekeepers? Chard had been convinced that Cana was in league with Letta and Lenti, and she had no doubt he had shared his suspicions with the higher-ups. The Saiyan girl put her head in her hands and let out a short, despairing laugh. So this was it. She had survived her battle only to end up a prisoner while the twins ran free.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. "You have to tell me what's going on," Sohko said. "One minute I'm checking over this ship, the next... half the team is gone, Chard's dead, and you're..." he trailed off again. "What happened out there?"

Her hands clenched against her face, igniting a fiery line of pain along one cheek. Cana realized there was a new scar there. _A memento of Letta_. As nice as it might have been to tell the young technician the truth, Cana knew she couldn't. "You know as much about it as I do," she said instead. The hand on her shoulder slipped away and Sohko said nothing. He knew she was lying.

Neither of them spoke for a long moment. Then... "Did you kill Chard?" Sohko asked, and his voice trembled.

Cana spun to face the technician, a heated denial on her lips, but wasn't she responsible for the captain's death in a way? It was her own fear that had led her to indirectly inform the twins of Chard's investigation and his conclusions, how he knew what had happened on Grayne and other worlds. She shook her head, tears unshed filling her eyes. No, she couldn't blame herself for the insane actions of Lenti or the cruelty of Letta. "I didn't kill him," she whispered.

Sohko seemed to consider that for a moment, then nodded. "That's... that's all I need to know," he said. The boy stood. "I'll see if I can find some new clothes for you." He walked past her, heading deeper into the ship, but Cana reached out to take his wrist briefly. He stopped, surprised.

"Thank you," Cana said, quiet but sincere. "I can't imagine how you found me or how you managed to bring me back here, but... thanks." Sohko blushed, gave her a quick smile, and hurried away.

Once he was gone, the Saiyan girl peeled off the scorched and broken remains of her armor, leaving only the shredded remains of the dark blue bodyglove to cover her. She stayed seated, still weak and in pain and – she realized – ravenously hungry. Her head lowered to her bent knees, her eyes closed. _I have to think... have to figure out what I can do._

Her options were limited. She could either wait here for the other Saiyans to arrive, in which case she would most likely become their captive and face either imprisonment or death, or...

 _Leave._

But where? Where could she go? After Letta and Lenti to get her revenge? Cana had just come back from the brink of death. Her Saiyan biology would make her stronger. Perhaps the next time she fought the twins, she could defeat them. Although the specifics were still fuzzy, Cana could vaguely remember hurting both of the older warriors.

Except they had walked away and she had not. Would she ever be able to close the gap between them?

 _It wouldn't matter!_ She thought, clenching a fist and smacking it against the cold floor. _I'd still be a fugitive. Killing them wouldn't fix that. Even if I captured one of them alive, they'd never clear my name. Either of them would implicate me just out of spite. Besides, I..._ she saw the face of the Grayne warrior she had killed.

No. There was only one choice. One chance.

Sohko returned a few minutes later, carrying a fresh set of battle armor and politely leaving to let her put it on. The body glove was a lighter blue than her last one and the chest-piece was one of the models with shoulder pads. Cana grimaced looking at it. _Always hated these_. Nonetheless, she slipped it on, the stretchable material molding to her slight figure: One size fit all.

She stepped out of the medical bay, her footsteps still dragging with hurt and weariness, shoulders hunching automatically at the eerie silence of the large, empty vessel. The Planet Trade Organization ship was an older design, bulbous and saucer-shaped. When filled with crew and soldiers, the vehicle would feel overcrowded and claustrophobic, but with just her and Sohko here, it seemed cavernous and echoing.

The sounds of activity led Cana down the curved hallway to a kind of storage room. Even as she approached, the technician stepped out, arms loaded with packaged food. "Oh, hey," he said, spotting her. "Figured you'd be hungry." He hefted the food he held, sending a can tumbling down the pile to the floor where it clattered loudly down the corridor.

Cana's growling stomach confirmed Sohko's guess. She mustered up a smile. "Now that you mention it."

The two young Saiyans sat against the wall and shared a small feast. It wasn't the best meal Cana had eaten, but she ate with a reckless abandon that had even Sohko raising his eyebrows. He had been done for almost ten minutes by the time she finished and slumped further down the bulkhead with a satisfied sigh.

"It's good to see you out of the medical machine," Sohko said, fiddling with an empty can with the fingertips of both hands. "It's been... lonely here the past five days."

"How have you been keeping yourself busy?" Cana asked without looking at the other Saiyan.

She felt rather than saw the technician shrug. "Checking over the PTO ship, fixing up the rest of the space pods, trying to placate the Essertians, making sure the medical machine was functioning..."

"Fun stuff," Cana said with a smirk.

"Everything but talking to the natives," Sohko chuckled. "The rest of it I don't mind. It's actually been nice to have time to just indulge myself with mechanical work."

"If you say so."

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Sohko turn to give her a look. "Yeah, I guess that kind of thing is pretty boring to you." There was a barely detectable hard edge in his voice. "You go out and have your glamorous battles, fighting and killing and coming back terribly wounded... if you come back at all. How's that working out for you?"

Cana felt a surge of anger, but choked it down with an effort. After all, was he really wrong? "Not very well," she admitted. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, she sighed. "Look, I didn't mean to insult you. You're doing what you love, that's more than I can say for what I've been doing for the past year."

He stared at her and she could tell that he wanted to ask questions, but he didn't. Instead, he turned away and looked up at the ceiling. "Well... sorry for getting mad," he said. "It's just that I know how people like me are looked down on because we're not strong."

"You kept things together after Chard's death," Cana said quietly, glancing at the other Saiyan. "That seems pretty strong to me." She saw the boy blush at her words and almost smiled. Almost. The burden of what she had to do next weighed her down. "Is there any more food left in there?" she asked with studied casualness.

Sohko laughed. "You're still hungry?"

"Hey, it's been a few days. I have some catching up to do."

The technician rose to his feet, shaking his head. "I guess it's a good sign that you have an appetite." He turned to enter the storage room. "Means the medical machine did its work."

Under the cover of the boy's words, Cana rose as quiet as she could and moved behind Sohko. With only the barest hesitation, she lifted a hand and chopped the side of the technician's neck with the edge of her hand. He went limp and dropped to the floor, unconscious. She pulled him back out into the hall and propped him against the wall once more, taking a moment to look at the boy.

He was just a little younger than she herself was, but Cana felt decades older. The experiences of the last months had aged her, and she envied the innocence in Sohko's sleeping face. She hoped that he wouldn't get in too much trouble from the peacekeepers. She hoped that he would be able to forgive her someday.

"Sorry," she whispered.

Cana stood up, pushing the guilt into the back of her mind. She had a lot to do, and she couldn't afford the distraction. First, she raided the storage room, taking as much food with her as she could. Next, she searched the lockers until she found a set of clothes that seemed less conspicuous, less like armor or a uniform, and changed into them as quickly as she could. With one last check of the still-unconscious Sohko, she opened the hatch to the ship and flew away.

It didn't take long for her to reach the Saiyan space pods. Sure enough, only three of the spherical vessels remained, the other two having been taken by the injured Letta and Lenti when they escaped. It burned at Cana that the two traitors had gotten away. She would have willingly given herself up to the peacekeepers if it meant the twins had been defeated, but there was no way to make such a trade and she had already given up on getting revenge on her own.

Feeling weak, hating herself, Cana climbed into her own pod. The door hissed shut, enclosing her within the metallic womb. With practiced hands, the Saiyan punched in the launch commands, noting that Sohko had the ship working at peak efficiency. Apparently, his time on Essert had been put to good use.

With a muffled roar, the spherical vessel blasted into the air. In seconds, her communications system was alive with hails and questions from Essert's surface, but she ignored them, watching through the little round view port until the sky darkened to the blackness of space and she was far enough away that the transmissions could no longer reach her.

She began to breathe easier.

 _But where can I go?_ She asked herself. Saiyan space was off-limits to her now. She had become an exile, a fugitive from her own people, from the organization she had been a part of for half her life. Cana was alone and adrift in her tiny ship, swallowed by the vast and uncaring universe.

There were places outside the Saiyan patrol zone that she could go, but her fear was that Letta and Lenti would have gone to one of those places themselves. What if she ran into them? The odds were slim, but it was still a possibility. She had to go somewhere where no one could find her, somewhere where no one would expect her to go.

Cana brought up the pod's navigation systems, searching through the charts, trying to pick the best spot. Nothing on the normal listings caught her eye, but there was a part of the galactic map that was noticeably empty. Suspiciously empty. It was the so-called "Forbidden Zone", an area in the spiral arm Saiyans were taught never to fly through. The directive had been passed down for generations, back when the descendants of Vegeta and Kakarot had first brought the Saiyan survivors together.

A shiver of fear went through the girl. There were all kinds of stories about the Forbidden Zone: monsters and aliens and monstrous aliens. Black holes and quasars and supernovae. It was supposed to be the most dangerous sector of space in their galaxy, but... what if it wasn't? It was unlikely that anyone would ever look for Cana there.

 _What do I have to lose?_

Cana set her jaw and set her course, straight into the middle of the Forbidden Zone, where – unbeknownst to her – a forgotten little planet called Earth waited.

* * *

 **A/N:** As much as I enjoy these characters and this story, "Fight or Flight" is going on hiatus for the foreseeable future. I'm focusing more on my other story, "The Edge Between", and there's just not enough interest in this particular story to warrant spending the extra time on it right now. Thanks to those who have been reading. I hope to return to this in not too long.


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